Never before in global history have Science and Technology (S&T) had such a significant impact on humanity. In our globalised world, S&T play an indispensable role in creating, analysing and managing the complexities and dynamics of international affairs.  Above all, solutions to the many grand challenges facing humanity today such as health and environmental risks are rooted in the applications of S&T. These issues are not ideological and they require active and collaborative solutions.

The information society, in which information is processed efficiently, including the production, exchange, adaptation and use of information, is the appropriate environment for achieving sustainable development and enhancing the quality of life for all citizens. However, the move towards the information society constitutes a real challenge to developing countries, particularly in view of the expanding digital divide with developed countries, thus rendering them increasingly vulnerable to reduction in their productive and economic capacities.



UNESCWA is organizing a seminar on the Role of Foreign Aid in Development of the Arab Region on Wednesday, July 12, 2006, at the UN House, Beirut. This comes as part of the Commission’s process of disseminating information and soliciting feedback on pressing developmental issues in the UNESCWA Region. It aims at providing a comprehensive analysis of the impact that development aid can have on achieving internationally agreed-upon development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in the Arab region.