Teaching Digital Native Omani Students “Inside Out”
Panorama
Leaving Hospital against Medical Advice
Mind Over Matter
Expert Delivers Talk on Korea’s Economy
News Update
Who My
Hero Is!
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
ISSUE 336
View Point
Opening up New Doors
Walt Disney has said that in our lives, we do not look backwards for long.
We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, doing new things. Curiosity leads us down new paths. To innovate something, we need to be able to
see the future. Being innovative starts with being curious, paying attention,
being open-minded and flexible, and not assuming the future is going to be
that connected to the present. We need to see the future by looking forward
and not in the rear-view mirror. This attitude makes our lives in favour for
being innovative.
Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani
Editorial Supervision
Santhosh Muthalath
Senior Editor
Sara Al Gheilani
Nasebah Al Muharrami
Translation
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Photography Dept., CET
Photography
Salim Al Sudairi
Circulation
SQU-info
To become innovative, one has to commit to continuous lifelong learning
and professional development. Learning and innovation go hand in hand.
The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be
sufficient for tomorrow. In the process of lifelong learning, one has to keep
asking many questions. Because, questions are like keys that unlock doors
in our lives and work. The challenge is finding the right key to unlock the
right door.
To become successful in lives, we have to seek a steeper trajectory by setting clear goals and deadlines. A real innovator will never complain about
lack of resources. He or she will find the resources around him. In any given
circumstance, there is a chance for new ideas and innovations. For example,
in a cooking contest, the winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients
as everyone else and produces the best result. What is inevitable for an innovator is purposeful interactions with diverse connections. Being innovative
is more a sense of the art of the possibility, thinking outside the box, challenging assumptions, being open to different perspectives, listening to other
views, meeting other people, and getting out of your comfort zone.
People who are more risk averse are focused on what is there, not what’s
coming. Innovators think differently, focussing on possibilities with a positive attitude. They get out of the bubble, interact with other people to learn
more, fail forward, and do not fear risks. Some people are born innovators.
Others can become innovators, provided they follow some simple guidelines. Research has shown that 20-25 per cent of our creativity ability is genetically driven. This means the other 75-80 per cent comes from the world
we live in!
@SQU-info
90199997
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of
articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions
to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors
and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. Horizon is published three times a
month by the Department of Public Relations and Information, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50,
P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
30 March 2016
P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
News Update
RMO Holds Seminar for
Contractors
The Risk Management Office (RMO) at Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU) organized a seminar entitled “Contractors- Towards implementation of Risk Management Mandates and HSE code of practice” for contractors dealing with SQU and contract holders at the
university. In her welcome address, Nadhira Al Habsi from the RMO
gave an overview of SQU and RMO’s vision mission and objectives.
Dr. Salim Al Harthy, Director of the RMO, spoke about new agenda
for contractors at SQU following the adoption of a risk management
policy at SQU and setting up an office for risk management at the
university. Dr. Al Harthy said that the setting a new agenda with
contractors is based on safety compliance and risk mitigation in line
with the national rules and regulations on healthy safety and environment (HSE). “We are expecting a strong partnership between the
university and the contractors for the enhancement of the best HSE
practices, which will be beneficial to both parties and at the same
time ensuring safety for the employees and business growth for the
companies in the end”, he said.
Dr. Al Harthy called upon the companies to prepare for the new
safety culture at the university and comply with the national rules
and regulations on HSE and the risk management policy of the
university. “HSE is the responsibility of everyone and the contractors are requested to consider HSE as core element in their business plans. Compliance to the rules and regulations is necessary
and not an option, and will be supported by reward and penalty.
SQU is determined to improve its safety record, integrating risk best
practices in its culture and HSE practices. This will not be possible
without effective role of its potential partners including contractors,
suppliers and service providers”, he said.Dr. El Said El Shafey from
the College of Science at SQU gave a presentation of HSE Code of
Practice. The Code provides the necessary information and sets out
the requirements to ensure that everyone understands the organization and arrangements for HSE in the University. The Code aims to
set a high standard of safety by personal examples so that students
leaving the University will transfer this culture into their respective
work fields in future.
Expert Delivers Talk on
Korea’s Economy
Leadership combined with proper plan of industrialization, financing and
human capital are key to success of industrial diversification and economic prosperity of any nation, said Joong Kyung Choi, Former Minister of
Knowledge Economy of the Republic of South Korea. A veteran finance
official who has served in key finance posts in South Korean Government,
Joong Kyung Choi was giving a talk on “the success story of Korea’s economy” at the College of Economics & Political Science at Sultan Qaboos
University.
“From South Korea’s experience since 1970s, industrial diversification is
the main driving force of economic development. Development of own
human capital is equally important to maintain a sustainable economy.
The government has a vital role to play in laying a plan and roadmap for
industrial diversification. Government intervention within and outside
the market in the forms of huge investments, research and development,
credit guarantees, etc. is vital for industrial growth and diversification”,
Joong Kyung Choi said. Joong Kyung Choi opined that Oman is well positioned to have diversified industry, which is necessitated by the fall in
oil prices. He lauded Oman’s efforts to promote small and medium enterprises as part of economic diversification plans and advised the government to provide credit guarantee to new technology based entrepreneurs.
As prerequisites to develop human capital and promote capacity building,
Joong Kyung Choi, suggested fair recruitment and admission policies to
mobilise talents regardless of the background of the candidates.
South Korea over the past four decades has demonstrated incredible economic growth and global integration to become a high-tech industrialized economy. In the 1960s, GDP per capita was comparable with levels
in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the
trillion-dollar club of world economies. A system of close government and
business ties, including directed credit and import restrictions, initially
made this success possible. Later, Joong Kyung Choi, held a meeting with
H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of SQU and discussed
ways of enhancing cooperation between Korean institutions and SQU to
facilitate training for faculty and students at SQU.
SQCC to Coordinate Ties between SQU and US Institutes
H.E. Hunaina bint Sultan Al Mughairy, the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the United States visited Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) recently. She was accompanied by Kathleen Ridolfo,
Executive Director of Sultan Qaboos Cultural Centre (SQCC) in
Washington DC, Dr. Iman Al Busaidi, Deputy Director of SQUCC,
and, Mohammed bin Said Al Shithani, Director of Planning &
Studies Department at Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture
and Science. The delegation was received by H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud
Al Bimani, Vice Chancellor of SQU, and other top officials of the
university. In the presence of Dr. Rahma Ibrahim Al Mahrooqi,
SQU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies & Research,
the two sides discussed on promoting cooperation between SQU
and educational and research institutions in the United States
through the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Centre. SQCC is dedicated
to educating the peoples of the United States and Oman about the
breadth and richness of the two cultures. SQCC promotes mutual
respect and understanding between the two nations and strives to
educate a new generation of culturally sensitive and knowledgeable citizens in each society. Through outreach programs, scholarships, lectures, educational resources, cultural partnerships, SQCC
brings the culture, history, and heritage of Oman and USA to audiences in the US and abroad.
P3
30 March 2016
Insight
Who My Hero Is!
Dr. Rashid Al-Balushi
Assistant Professor of Linguistics
Department of English Language and Literature
The following question appears one page 148 of The Advanced
Grammar Book (the textbook used for ENGL2108, Modern English
Grammar): “Name a living person who is a hero for you and explain why.”
I make sure that all the students provide an answer to this question,
without the condition that the ‘hero’ be living, hoping that some of
them would say things about their parents or teachers, things that
I would learn from, being both a father and a teacher. The usual
answers are Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos (May Allah bestow good health on him), parents and
older siblings (may Allah have mercy on the deceased and protect
the living), etc. Usually my answer is no different, but this semester,
I have thought that I might have another hero, not a character of the
past or the present, but rather one of the future. My hero could be a
student, but one with ‘certain’ qualities.
My hero is a student who takes the course with me because it is a totally different experience (an adventurous one, though hard), who
never misses classes (except for emergencies), who never cheats
even to impress me, who appreciates what I do as an instructor, not
someone who counts the minutes of the lesson, someone who never
complains when the material gets harder, but asks questions.
My hero is a students who has positive attitudes towards learning,
who wants to learn for the sake of learning and knowledge itself,
not for the grades, or certificate, or job (I am NOT saying that these
are not important), who came to the university for a full experience
(academic, intellectual, social, psychological, emotional maturity,
etc…), not just a certificate, to whom university education is more
than a degree, to whom a job (teacher, translator, etc…) is more than
a source of income, someone who came to the university to learn
what the others have said in his/her area of specialty, but who also
wants to contribute to his/her field, and, more important, to discover his/her own inner resources and powers, to learn about his/
her own capacities and capabilities, to know who he/she truly is;
that is, one to whom the university experience is an opportunity to
discover his/her own self, his/her own inner world/wider space.
My hero is a student who impresses me in class by how much he/
she knows, and, more important, by how he/she acquires knowledge, who knows about something more than I do, who takes it
(learning/life) his/her own way, not that of the others/majority,
who teaches me something, who seeks to improve, whose ambitions and thinking have no boundaries, who proves to be better and
more committed to academia than even me, who never stops think30 March 2016
P4
ing and asking why the facts are the way they are, who comes up
with new ideas and insights in my own course/area of specialty,
ones that I have not thought of myself.
My hero is a student who insists on making a difference in his/her
area of specialty, who insists on marking his/her presence in this
world, to be remembered after he/she leaves it, who would make
me proud of him/her, who can achieve in my area what I could not,
who can take my accomplishments as a starting point and build
on them to accomplish something more outstanding, someone with
a plan that goes beyond what his/her peers and teachers (myself
included) may be able to foresee, someone who would carry out
the mission that I lived for, which is ‘establishing a generation of
thinkers’, not imitators who treat their minds like hard-disks, that
is, someone who would carry the torch!
As I said earlier, my hero is not a figure of the past or present,
though I have many of those, but is one of the future, that is, for me,
heroship is still achievable. Now some of the readers might start
to think that I am looking for the impossible, a perfect hero or student that does not exist in reality, but believe me, in my 10 years as
an instructor at SQU, I have met some students who have many
of these characteristics and potentials. In my 6 years as an M.A.
and Ph.D. student in the USA and Canada, respectively, I met many
such students.
The question is, how, as academic faculty members, we can help
create such heroes. The answer, I believe, has to do with attitudes.
As instructors, we need to show the students that we do care about
their learning and future (talk to them about possible future plans
and careers, like where they see themselves 10 years from now, as
well as discussing examples of successful graduates), do respect
them and their minds (assign them analysis, problem-solving, and
critical thinking tasks, not memorization ones), do like teaching as a
profession (not just as a source of income), do like to learn ourselves
through conducting research and studies in our and relevant areas
of specialty. In other words, we need to show them that we are committed to our duties (teaching, research, office hours, etc.) so that
they would feel that we will hold them responsible for their duties
(punctuality, integrity, attendance, priority for classes over other activities, hard work, competence, creativity, etc.), which, if they carry
out efficiently, will help them become potential heroes. We need to
remember that the same attitudes percolate down from us to the
students. I am sure we are doing our best in this regard, but we still
need to make them believe in themselves, to inspire them and help
them become heroes.
Mind Over Matter
Leaving Hospital against Medical Advice
A new study has investigated the number of families who discharge
their children against the instruction of their doctor at Royal Hospital
in Muscat. The study, published in the latest issue of the Sultan Qaboos
University Medical Journal, found that over a two-year period, 183 out
of 11,482 children left paediatric wards at Royal Hospital contrary to
their doctor’s advice.
in performing investigations and procedures and having more private
rooms in the paediatric wards might encourage more families to allow their child to continue care in hospital,” he continued. The study
concluded that further research should be done on the outcomes for
children who leave paediatric wards before the completion of their
treatment.
“It is encouraging to see that this number is relatively low, but we
should be aiming for a prevalence of zero—no child should be discharged from the hospital before the completion of their treatment,”
stated Dr Mohammed Al-Ghafri, the study’s first author and a doctor
at Royal Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. The study found that dissatisfaction with treatment and the desire to seek a second opinion were
the main reasons that families were discharging their children against
medical advice. Dr Mohammed clarified that the parents’ dissatisfaction often stemmed from delays in certain investigations or procedures
being performed, as well as a lack of single rooms in the paediatric
wards. “Also, some people do not trust the medical service in Oman
and they feel a better service will be provided abroad. If they can afford it, some will take their child to countries like Thailand or India for
a second opinion and treatment,” he added.
Toxic substances in chewable tobacco Afzal
The other reasons identified in the study were social or personal issues, such as problems with finding child care for the family’s other
children. Financial concerns were only cited by 4.4% of the families,
all of whom were non-Omani and did not have medical insurance. In
Oman, if a child is discharged contrary to the doctor’s instruction, the
parents need to sign a specific form and provide reasons for their decision. This protocol exists to protect hospitals against liability. In severe
cases though, a legal order can be obtained by hospital staff in order to
refuse a patient discharge request.
The consequences for leaving hospital before the completion of treatment range from minimal to life-threatening, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition. According to Dr Mohammed, when a
child’s treatment is stopped or delayed, this could have dire consequences for their health, particularly those with sepsis or newly diagnosed malignant tumours.
He asserted that while Royal Hospital is doing very well in treating
a high volume of paediatric patients, some with very complicated illnesses, there is still more that could be done to prevent families from
discharging their children against medical advice. “Better communication between physicians and parents, avoiding unnecessary delays
New research has shown that Afzal, an illegal chewable tobacco commonly used by Omani youths, contains alarmingly high levels of
disease-enhancing molecules. Two studies recently published in the
Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal revealed that Afzal contains
highly toxic nicotine levels and elevated concentrations of nitrate and
chloride.Two carcinogens identified in Afzal were also found to exceed
international regulatory limits. Absorption of these substances can
lead to serious health problems for Afzal users, the researchers stated.
“The results of these studies show that we must spread knowledge
about the toxic substances found in Afzal and help educate the public
that these kinds of products constitute a grave danger for their health,”
affirmed Dr Elsadig Eltayeb, one of the lead researchers involved in
this research. He is a faculty member of the College of Science at Sultan Qaboos University. Dr Elsadig stressed that while some people in
Oman believe that products such as Afzal are a healthier alternative to
smoking, this is not correct.Afzal’s high concentrations of nitrate and
chloride could lead to the formation of carcinogens and contribute to
the development of heart disease ororal, lung and gastric cancers in
Afzal users.
The studies also found that Afzal contains alarmingly high levels of
nicotine. This makes the chewable tobacco very addictive and means
that those who try to stop using it will likely experience withdrawal symptoms. Both studies concluded that more needs to be done in
Oman to restrict the usage of Afzal among the public. “Despite the fact
that it is illegal to sell this product in Oman, the prohibited sale has no
real influence unless people are aware of its harmful effects,” statedDr
Elsadig. “The better the health education among the community, the
faster these kinds of problems will be solved or at least minimized
from the existing unacceptable situation.”
Dr Elsadig suggests that addiction rehabilitation programmes should
be established in Oman to help Afzal users successfully quit the habit,
and that tougher penalties should be imposed on those who are caught
selling Afzal. In addition, education programmes should be implemented among Omani students to spread awareness of the potentially
fatal outcomes of Afzal use.
P5
30 March 2016
News Round Up
GCC Varsity Theatre Fest Opens
Activities of the fourth GCC University Theater Festival for the GCC universities and higher education institutions began at the Sultan Qaboos
University Cultural Centre on 27 March. The opening ceremony was held
under the patronage of HE Dr. Salim Bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture for Heritage Affairs
in the presence of HE Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bemani, the Vice Chancellor of
SQU and number of Academicians and Students. The first day included
the opening of a fine arts exhibition. The first day of the festival included
the opening of fine arts exhibition, in addition to a theater show for AlJouf University in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The festival is being
organized for the first time in the SQU as it includes 10 theater shows
from the GCC countries.
Commenting on the University hosting the event, H.E Dr. Ali bin Saud
Al Bemani, the Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University, said that it
is an honor for SQU to host the Fourth Theater Festival for universities
and Higher Educational Intuitions in Gulf Cooperation Council, which
promotes and activates the theatrical field. “Such festivals are an opportunity for students to practice their theatrical skills and creativity. In addition, this festival is considered as a cultural interaction, which interpret
the efforts of the students and supervisors”, he said. HE Dr. Salim Bin
Mohammed Al Mahrouqi said that the festival represents a qualitative
addition to the academic communities at the level of the GCC countries,
and there is no doubt that the Omani experience is rich and organizing
such events would make a qualitative addition to the university. “The
output events like this would nourish the annual theatre festival and related events organized at the national level by the Ministry”, he said.
Dr.Yousef bin Salem Al Hinai, Dean of Student Affairs and Head of Main
Committee of the Festival, welcomed the participating groups from various GCC Universities. “Theater shows occupy a prominent place in our
culture and plays a major role of the intellectual and cultural identity. It
is good to see that the opening of the theatre fest coincides with World
Theatre Day”, he said.
Apart from SQU, the following universities from GCC countries participate in the festival: the University of Al-Jawf, Jazan University, Taif University, King Abdul-Aziz University, Imam Muhammad bin Saud University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (all from Saudi
Arabia), the University of Bahrain, Kuwait University, Qatar University,
and the United Arab Emirates University.
Symposium Promotes Links between Scientists from Oman, UK
tion and sustainable use of water should receive enough attention”, he observed. Dixon called upon the scientists to come up with new technologies
to tap solar energy and other renewable energy resources in Oman, which
receives considerable amount of sunlight. He hoped that the symposium
would pave way for strong research ties between scientists from Oman
and UK.
The International Cooperation Office at SQU, in association with the
British Council, organized “Water and Energy Research Symposium”
in order to promote links between scientists from Sultan Qaboos University and various universities in UK to carry out joint innovative
research in water and energy fields. Noted research scientists specialised in energy and water fields from SQU and seven UK universities
attended the symposium that discussed research ideas to open up new
paths in water and energy research.
Russ Dixon, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy, Oman,
in his address, stressed on the need for innovations in energy research
for the oil producing countries like Oman. “The drop in oil price is
a concern for the countries in this region. It is imperative to develop
more innovative technologies to conserve energy and tap alternative
energy sources. For arid regions, water is a crucial topic and conserva30 March 2016
P6
Dr. Shahid Al Balushi, Expert, International Cooperation Office at SQU,
gave an outline of SQU initiatives to support research and capacity building. He elaborated on various research funding options available to scientists in SQU and the university’s research ties with foreign universities
and research institutes. In her address, Dr. Malak Hamdan, Head of UK’s
Science and Innovation Network in the Gulf, stated that science and innovation are at the heart of the prospects of any nation. “A country by its
own, cannot find innovative solutions to the complex set of challenges that
the world is facing today. This makes international collaboration between
scientists imperative”. Dr. Hamdan hoped that the tie up between scientists from Oman and UK would pave for innovative solutions to address
water and energy security challenges and climate change issues.
Constantine Demetriou, Director for Commercialization at The Research
Council (TRC), spoke about the start-up and venture capital landscape
in Oman. He elaborated on TRC’s project to promote research and innovation in the country in collaboration with various government agencies
and universities. During the workshop, the scientists from both sides discussed about prospective research collaboration in water security, water
management, renewable energy, biofuels, water desalination technologies, and related topics.
Panorama
Teaching Digital Native
Omani Students “Inside Out”
This generation is a real-time generation, isn’t it? Time we admit
this and make our students gain the real-time way, by using realia
based materials produced and available online, through e-learning.
Tools for e-learning no longer have to be a little ‘task’ in the classroom to make it interesting, but closely integrated into our courses.
Resource building would be the order of the day.
By: Amita Sanghvi
Assistant Lecturer
Language Centre, SQU
As I sighed and returned to my desk to check my SQU mailbox, I
found a huge number of unread emails telling me about the varied lectures, seminars, workshops, professional development sessions, IELTS
exams and through it all, I prided at the fact that I am a faculty member
of such a happening University.
2. Active construction of their understanding makes their learning
come live, and to this I totally agreed. Using the Top-Down approach, I would be all too happy to bring to class the news headline of the day, and make them life-ready to analyze, synthesize,
question and figure out deep-running philosophies of life and education. Nothing would be more effective than getting out Omani
students develop their critical thinking using contextualized realia
as our classroom material rather than expecting them to unrealistically read a dozen journal articles written by experts for experts! So
this aspect convinced me ‘inside out’!
While having a quick read of most of the posters, I stopped short at one
of them, which rather beckoned me to hold on. Three sessions by Dr.
Dan from Kansas University; organized by the Centre of Excellence in
Teaching & Learning (CETL) at SQU, the infant growing so quickly under the leadership Dr. Otherine Neisler from the College of Education,
and under the patronage of His Excellency, Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bemani,
the Vice Chancellor of SQU.
3. Connecting the personal experience: How relevant was this!
How would you expect 18 year olds to pay attention to detail if
they did not find ‘a personal connect’ with the information or the
example or the case presented. The only way to take them on to
the journey of learning was to hold their hands while they found
a similar experience, a personal dilemma, and a nagging ambition,
within them and then took on the path from inside out- from the
known to the unknown.
The session was entitled, “Learning Inside Out” and it was an enigmatic question for a teacher like me, teaching English to Foundation
Year students, who have just entered the threshold of the University.
It also popped up questions like mustard seeds in my mind: how can
students learn inside out? How can I teach inside out? How is this possible, what is it all about?
By now, I could not hold my breath anymore, to find out what the
fourth ‘student’s path would be? I was totally immersed into the
width of research and the depth of thought that Dr. Dan’s studies
had exhumed. The final path where we ought to meet our students
was to get them to what I call in my own way, “life-ready”:
Determined to be a part of this talk, I attended the presentation on a
busy teaching day and found myself intrigued more and more as Dr.
Dan unfolded his ideas. For someone who has worked in about a dozen
countries including USA, Australia, Singapore, India, Japan, over decades, this need to relate and to relevantize today’s digital native students from all over the globe must have been a long and a very
interesting journey indeed.
Four very powerful things churned my thinking “inside out”. As he
contextualized our students’ tech-comfy if not tech-savvy skills, he so
aptly called the ‘inside’ of our student’s ‘inner’ paths, to which they
respond whole-heartedly and learning takes place inside out, keeping
the involvement of students to the optimum:
4. Bringing your discipline to the community. Unless our students
are made capable to connect to the larger community, where and
how would the benefit of university education reach out help the
larger Omani community? So he suggested or rather recommended
that we strive towards making them see how their studies will impact the larger Omani society, and in effect, Oman, the nation.
Imagine this: I took so much from his single slide! I felt rejuvenated, refreshed, and walked out with a new-found determination to
work towards teaching ‘inside-out’.
1. Appealing forms of expression have a definite advantage in our
classroom lectures. We have to move away from linear, repetitive, instruction and extend our communication to visual orientation. With
students being so comfortable with numerous apps, social networking
sites, and innumerable websites at their finger tips, enabling effective
strategies that are enabled by e-learning would be ‘en’learning indeed!
The students, most of the faculty will agree with me, are coming to the
classroom with flexible and short attention spans, and are appreciating
task-oriented teaching. They prefer specific instructions that help them
see the near-term horizon and the short-term benefits, rather than a
long-term, ambiguous promise of reaping fruits down 20 years of having learnt something in class today.
P7
30 March 2016
Straight Talk
Globally Distributed
Network that Governs
the Internet
Fahd Batayneh
Fahd Batayneh serves as Stakeholder Engagement Manager - Middle East of ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers), which is a non-profit organization that is responsible for coordinating the maintenance and methodologies of several databases, with unique identifiers, related to the namespaces
of the Internet - and thereby, ensuring the network’s stable and
secure operation. In pursuant to an invitation from the Communication and Information Research Centre (CIRC), Fahd gave a talk
on Internet governance at Sultan Qaboos University.
the complex issue of Internet Governance (“Who owns the Internet?”) remained unresolved.
The second phase of the WSIS (2003–2005) started with the U.N.
Secretary General requesting the formation of a working group
called the “Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)”.
The WGIG’s mandate was to define the Internet governance and
the Stakeholders of Internet governance. In 2004, the WGIG succeeded in fulfilling its mandate, after three face-to-face meetings
and a handful of teleconferences. They finally defined Internet
Governance as follows: “Internet governance is the development
and application by all stakeholders in their respective roles, of
shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and
programs that shape the evolution and use of the Internet”. The
group also identified four stakeholder groups of Internet governance: business and private sector; governments; civil society; and
academic and technical community. The results of the work of the
first WGIG became the basis for the second phase of the WSIS,
the 2005 Tunisia meeting, which produced what is widely known
today as the “Tunis Agenda”. The agenda recognized that it was
time to move from principles to action, and laid the groundwork
for a multi stakeholder process of Internet governance.
Horizon: Can you explain the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)?
Fahd: The Tunis Agenda called for the creation of an annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF), mandated for five years from
2005–2010. The IGF was to be a multistakeholder platform that
enabled the discussion of public policy issues pertaining to the
Internet. The first IGF took place in 2005 in Athens, Greece. Over
the years, the IGF evolved and matured as a key dialogue forum,
proving its strength in the role it played in Internet governance
discussions. Due to this success, the IGF’s mandate was renewed
in 2009 for five years (2010–2015) and again in 2015 for another
ten years. Volunteers who work as members of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) develop the annual agenda for
the IGF, which receives Secretariat support from the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG). MAG members set a theme for
the annual IGF and identify relevant main topics.
Horizon: Could you give an overview of Internet governance?
Fahd: The Internet we know today was a project funded by the
U.S. Department of Defence in the mid-1960s. While working on
this project, what researchers had in mind was to connect academic institutions, both within the U.S. and then globally, to a
unified network where they could exchange academic research.
They did not anticipate the rapid adoption and exponential
growth of the Internet on a global and universal level. With the
ever-evolving and universal nature of the Internet becoming more
obvious, in 1998 at the plenipotentiary in Minneapolis, the topic
of “information superhighways” was brought up. After hours of
debate, participants agreed to initiate a process later named the
World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). The first round of
the WSIS took place from 2001–2003, and ended with a meeting
in Geneva in late 2003. While most agenda items were settled,
30 March 2016
While Internet governance encompasses broad and diverse topics, most topics fall into one of these categories: Access, diversity, critical Internet resources (CIR), privacy and human rights,
openness, and security. Within the Internet governance ecosystem, many players contribute to the development of the Internet.
These are known as I* (I star) organizations. Some key organizations are: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN); Internet Society (ISOC); Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF); Internet Architecture Board (IAB); Regional Internet
Registries (RIRs); and Regional TLD Organizations (RTLDOs).
Horizon: Can you explain the mission and role of ICANN?
ICANN’s mission is to help ensure a stable, secure and unified
global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have
to type an address into your computer – a name or a number.
That address has to be unique so computers know where to find
each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique
identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a
not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with
participants from all over the world. ICANN and its community
help keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It also
promotes competition, develops policy for the top-level of the
Internet’s naming system, and facilitates the use of other unique
Internet identifiers.