The Middle East Education Market ACADEMIA LEBANON 2004 to take place this month

The event re-convenes drawing on a successful first edition last year, which managed to shed light over a market with rich legacy of knowledge to share, and with potential for competitiveness on the world market. The first edition also initiated a groundbreaking international education seminar which triggered many vibrant debates during the past year about issues related to higher education; current status, quality assurance systems, and the need for integrating regional efforts to develop the sector further.

ACADEMIA LEBANON ® 2004 takes place under the High Patronage of His Excellency President of the Republic of Lebanon General Emile LAHOUD at Intercontinental Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut, from 26 to 28 February 2004, and once again creates a hub of educational and ongoing learning opportunities for the Lebanese and Arab audience.

The Exhibition
The exhibition will showcase over three days Quality Educational Programs, Professional Training Courses, Modern Learning Technologies, and recent Initiatives and Projects to 20,000+ projected visitors in six thematic Forums.

High school and university students are invited to exercise their right of freedom of choice at the Undergraduate Forum where they can select among hundreds of educational programs offered by numerous universities and colleges coming from as far as Canada and the USA, through Europe and the Middle East, in addition to Asia. Admission officers of universities will also deliver Orientation Seminars which present an excellent opportunity for students to obtain direct answers on study programs, accreditations, credit transfers, scholarships and financial aid programs.

The Postgraduate & Executive Education Forum and the Training & Certification Forum are dedicated to graduates and professionals to check out the latest graduate degrees and training courses available.

Directors and administrators of schools and universities have a chance to meet with global providers of educational resources, systems and technologies at the e-Learning Forum and the Educational Media & Technology Forum to locate products and services bound to help them upgrade the infrastructure of their educational systems.

Voicing support for recent initiatives in the field of education and lifelong learning in the Middle East at the convention comes through the Global Cooperation Forum where organizations and government representatives will be explaining their latest projects and activities and tracing partners.

The Conference on Access to Knowledge in the 21st Century
The convention program will include a conference on Higher Education to be held under the title 'Access to Knowledge in the 21st Century', on 28 February 2004 at the United Nations House in Beirut. Keynote speech will be presented by Dr. Ghassan Salame, Former Minister of Culture in Lebanon, and Professor of International Relations at Sorbonne University, France.

The conference aims to explore the role of higher education in producing and disseminating knowledge, discuss issues pertinent to upgrading the quality of education in the region, and define future trends in higher education.

The program will also witness the reporting of recent projects and initiatives directed towards increasing and upgrading educational opportunities in the Middle East. Practitioners from different parts of the world will speak on their experiences and contribute their views on the themes of the conference: Building Knowledge Societies, ICT and Higher Education, Quality Assurance and Reform of Higher Education.

Program Highlights:

• Panel Discussion on The Trend of Establishing American Higher Education Institutions in the Arab States; addressing the causes and implication of this trend on the region. Amongst the panelists are Dr. John Waterbury, President, American University of Beirut, Dr. Saif Al-Hajari, Vice Chairperson, Qatar Foundation, Dr. Marwan Kamal, Secretary General, Association of Arab Universities.

• Initiative to Establish a Regional Accreditation System: presented by Professor John Harris, representative of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), USA proposing a conference of Middle East higher education leaders and public officials in which they could discuss the development of an accreditation system for institutes, colleges, and universities in the Middle East, to facilitate interaction with the other accrediting bodies throughout the world, thus offering opportunities for Middle Eastern universities to gain their rightful global status, as the demand for higher education rises in the Middle East.

The Middle East Education Market ACADEMIA LEBANON® 2004 is organized by the Beirut-Based Global Consultants, the Education and Training consulting organization, with the overwhelming support of public and private organizations that include the United Nation's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), The Canadian Government, The British Council, Microsoft, Adobe Systems, in addition to reputable local and regional media including LBCI, An-Nahar, Al-Hayat, L'Orient Le Jour, Executive Magazine, Maktoob.com, Bayt.com, among others who joined forces for the region's loudest call of support to quality education.