OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2013. The company’s president and CEO Khalid A. Al-Falih explained how Saudi Aramco is taking an active role in the Kingdom’s efforts to transform into a knowledge-based society in his keynote remarks at the first Global Knowledge Society Forum held in Dhahran this week.

“The coming era, which will witness the advancement of the company’s growth, the Kingdom’s economy and the world’s prosperity, will be based on creating knowledge rather than consuming it,” Al-Falih told an audience of academics, researchers and government officials.

Saudi Aramco’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), hosted the two-day forum under the theme “Building Knowledge Societies for Sustainable Human Development.” The goal was to catalyze the development of a knowledge ecosystem in the Kingdom.

“We admit we don’t exactly have a magic recipe to address this challenge, and that is why this forum brings together these key players,” Al-Falih said.

Al-Falih elaborated on a four dimensional framework that describes the company’s efforts that contribute to the Kingdom’s transformation toward a knowledge economy. These efforts have followed four key areas, including: science and technology; human capital; diffusion of knowledge and information infrastructure; and entrepreneurship.

Addressing the science and technology, Al-Falih expressed Saudi Aramco’s sincere desire and determination to play an active role in global technological advancement by the year 2020. “We started one year ago by creating a network of eight research centers around the world. We established the Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) company to capture the bold and emerging energy technology opportunities wherever they exist. … We also developed a solid national and global base for research and collaboration partnerships with prominent universities and research centers in the Kingdom and abroad,” Al-Falih said.

The partners in the company’s science and technology initiative include KACST, King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

A positive result of one such partnership, with the Ministry of Education, is the first knowledge incubator in the Eastern Province, which is scheduled to open in the next three months. With the capacity to accept 5,000 students and teachers, the incubator is what the company plans to be just the first of many to help improve education in the Kingdom.

However, creating a knowledge society isn’t just about creating knowledge, the CEO explained, noting the need for knowledge to be disseminated and made available in an attractive form.

To spread knowledge, he said, the proper infrastructure must be in place. “Information technology has the capacity to change the ways we gain, produce and disseminate knowledge,” he said, emphasizing the importance of investment. “Although the Kingdom’s communication sector has made huge strides in the past two decades, there are still gaps to be filled in order to provide information to all citizens, particularly students, wherever they are.”

One such investment is the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, which Al-Falih described as “a giant platform for disseminating knowledge, fostering innovation and celebrating cultural diversity.” The Center’s iThra Youth Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, intends to reach two million Saudis by 2020. Meanwhile, the iThra Knowledge program, which targets families, has already reached 300,000 Saudis this year. The program strives to reach more than 10 million by 2020.

Al-Falih concluded his remarks with a word of advice. “Creating a sustainable future for the coming generations represents both the goal and the means for transforming into a knowledge society,” he said. “This is why it is necessary to deal with the young generation as mature partners in the making of the future, and to consider the great vision and capabilities they possess.”