The American University in Cairo (AUC) will host a panel discussion titled "Great Arab Minds: A New Era for Arab Excellence and Global Impact," featuring H.E. Saeed Al Nazari, secretary general of the Great Arab Minds initiative and the general coordinator of the Dubai Civility Committee. The panel will be moderated by AUC Provost Ehab Abdel Rahman.
The event will take place on Wednesday, January 28, 2026; 11 am at the Oriental Hall in AUC Tahrir Square campus.
Al Nazari has held several senior government roles, including director general of the Federal Youth Authority, executive director of youth affairs at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office and chief strategy officer of the Arab Youth Center. He also chaired the youth committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council, served on the youth committee of the Arab League and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.
The panel will discuss the mission of the Great Arab Minds Initiative and the vital role that academic institutions play in nurturing talent and driving scientific progress. It will highlight the impact of the initiative across its six categories: natural sciences, economics, medicine, literature and arts, engineering and technology and architecture and design and will address opportunities for student engagement, faculty collaboration and joint research efforts.
Launched on January 4, 2022, the Great Arab Minds initiative was established with an AED 100 million budget to identify and support exceptional Arab scientists, thinkers and innovators. The initiative aims to identify 1,000 influential individuals over five years. Each year, an award ceremony at the Museum of the Future in Dubai honors winners from each category, with each recipient receiving AED 1 million to fund their research and projects in the Arab world.
The discussion will be conducted in English, and simultaneous interpretation into Arabic will be available.
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