The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the 24th World Conference of the World Future Studies Federation (WFSF), held by the Federation in partnership with Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of ICESCO Strategic Foresight Center, took part in a discussion panel on MENA region, under the title “The Future of Higher Education and Tomorrow’s Skills: Discussing the Role of Higher Education in Reshaping Generations and Preparing Youth for the Digital Age.”

In his videoconference participation, today, October 28, 2021, Dr. Hammami divided his presentation into four parts. In the first part, he touched on a dynamic analysis of the history of foresight in the education sector, stressing that in order to correctly anticipate the future, it is imperative to think about the past. Foresight is a project for the future, and the transition from the past to a better future is integral to the activities of the present.

In the second part of his intervention, he dealt with a diagnosis of the current situation, as he indicated that the main trends that affect the present of education, such as artificial intelligence, demographic situation, and social problems, must be identified to assess the current changes and plan for the possible future in this field. In the third part, he talked about the diversity of future scenarios in education, as he stressed that many international organizations are currently working on developing forward-looking scenarios for the future of education, mainly the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In the last part of his presentation, he pointed out the desired and potential scenario, stressing that ICESCO Strategic Foresight Center relies in its action on several best practices, which must be taken into account in re-imagining the future of education, especially in the digital age, to establish an educational system based on common knowledge to provide students with education basics in all fields of science and artificial intelligence.