2. Overview Knowledge development as crucial to the advancement of nations The status of the Arab World’s intellectual arena The Arabic Web as an opportunity to leapfrog other countries
3. Hello, World War! War + Bookstore = Nerd (in disguise) Read: to learn to escape reality to make sense of the world Curiosity to learn 13 year exploratory journey to USA, Europe and Asia
4. A B C vs. تبا Books accessible everywhere: Europe, USA Asia: only in more developed countries (Singapore) Reading as a hobby
5. Difference in Attitude Reading on the bus, waiting for a plane or a train, in coffee shops, at the hairdresser’s, everywhere! People loved to read People loved to debate ‘big ideas’ – disclaimer: I was usually in highly intellectual circles (San Francisco, Paris, Frankfurt, etc…)
6. Reading Material “Dating for Dummies” and “The Innovator’s Dilemma” “حياة إبن بطوطة المذهلة” and ”المؤامرة العالمية على لبنان” Books as a reflection (and a reinforcement) of our mind-numbing reality
7. Vicious Circle No real appeal to the youth of today Smaller Market Fewer Books UN Study: Spain or Italy’s book production in ONE year > Arabic book production from ALL Arab countries for the last 10 years Population: 338 Mil (Arab World) vs. 60 Mil (Italy) ~ 5.6 times bigger!
8. So What? OECD Report: education has been directly linked to GDP growth GDP: $1.6 Mil (Arab World) vs. $14.2 Tril (USA) Innovation – according to a WIPO report: ~200 patents for ALL Arab countries combined in 2008 vs. ~53,500 for the USA or ~3,000 for Italy Population: 338 Mil (Arab World) vs. 300 Mil (USA)
9. New Face of the Arab World 65% of the region’s population is under 30 among the youngest in the world Leaders of tomorrow Social networks, online gaming, sports and entertainment
10. Garbage In, Garbage Out Responsibility as young, educated, Lebanese or Arabs for content development Arabic web “under construction” as opportunity and threat
11. What can We Do, Now? Paper-based books patterns are an indication Leave everything as is Dark Ages, “death by intellectual handicap” Lack of real government involvement Need for Community driven planning and involvement
12. Framework at a Glance Framework for content enrichment Three Parts: Collective framework for translating books Platform to submit original work/essays ‘Forums’ for knowledge transfer
13. Part I: Translation Project A lot of knowledge already developed in other languages Arabic as main language for many of the Arabs Crowdsourced translation Deals with foreign book authors/publishers
14. Translation Process Community Editors/Publisher Community Translators/Volunteers Community/diaspora Conducts Validation Suggests Translations Book titles Released for Translation Approved/Negotiated by Community Officers
15. Part II: Platform for Original Work Crowdsourced Voting and prizes Publisher’s involvement Research projects
16. Publishing Process Publishers/Universities/Research Collaborators Community/diaspora Community/diaspora Votes Adopts for publishing / Awards prizes / Builds on research Posts Published Books Original Work Released for Voting Approved for Publishing by Community Officers
17. Part III: Forum for Knowledge Transfer Many experts with varied knowledge Many locals (or returning locals), but also large diaspora A la “YallaStartup!”
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19. Risks and Considerations Money factor, Commitment Lack of Publishers collaboration Licensing issues / distribution Acceptance Others?
20. Get Involved Email: edesiree@gmail.com Need: Web developers Marketers Private businesses Academia Financiers Editors Publishers Negotiators Volunteers
21. Thank You! I hope I convinced you to get involved, with my reading project and beyond Here’s to our bright future: Cheers!
22. Final Thoughts "Your mind is yours and yours alone. It is your right, correction: your obligation, to challenge it!“ "Be gentle to others, and critical of your own thoughts. And then go and have a chocolate on me :-)"
