Knowledge and education are key factors in alleviating the plight of refugees who have fled wars in Syria and Iraq former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at the Knowledge Summit 2015 in Dubai on Monday.

The Knowledge Summit - organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation - is designed as a forum to discuss ways to encourage and facilitate education innovation scientific research and knowledge transfer in the Arab world and beyond.

During a speech delivered on the opening day of the three-day event Brown who served as the UK's prime minister between 2007 and 2010 and is currently UN Special Envoy for Global Education said education is essential for those that have been displaced by war in the region.

"When it comes to refugee problem in this region where young people are without hope we have got to give them that hope through making sure they have education" he said. "It is said you can survive for 40 days without food. You can survive for eight days without water. You can survive for eight minutes without air. But you cannot survive for even one second without hope. Education is about hope."

Brown added that the world risks alienating an entire generation of Arab youth by failing to provide them education in their time of need.

"For the long-term if we fail this generation of refugees and don't give them the chance they need to get educated when we can perfectly reasonably do so then we will pay a very heavy price" he said.

"We will have lost a generation ... not just in terms of their personal wellbeing and the economic success of the countries in future but it will be a loss because you have discontented angry young people" he added. "We must do something about it."

According to UN statistics cited by Brown approximately half of the four million Syrian refugees now living in Lebanon Jordan and Turkey are children many of who have been without access to education for years in addition to six million children who have been internally displaced in the country.

"Our aim over the next few months is to make sure that one million of these Syrian refugee children at least are in education during the course of next year" Brown noted. "To make sure that every refugee child has the chance to get the education they need."

In his remarks Brown also praised the leadership of the UAE - in particular that of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai - for investing the knowledge and education of its nationals and residents.

"To have such a vision of an educated and innovative country is a great tribute to the leadership here" he said. "You have said as a country that oil and gas are important for your present but the real potential for the future is the potential of people."

Another forum participant UAE Education Minister Hussain Al Hammadi said the UAE's focus going into the future must be on preparing the country's young people to face uncertainties.

"The real critical factor has to be innovation and to be ready for future jobs that cannot be predicted" he said. "We need to ensure that our students can develop those skills individually and independently ... experts in education can also conduct workshops to anticipate future developments."

Al Hammadi added that the UAE is working hard to ensure that all residents - not just UAE nationals - receive a good education which will benefit the country and the region as a whole in the future.

"We seek to offer education of international standards" he said. "We are not focusing on education for nationals only but for all residents of the UAE."

Out of school

> Nearly 2.6 million children are out of school in Syria.

> Nearly 50% of the 950000 registered school-age Syrian refugee children in refugee hosting countries are not enrolled in school.

> In Turkey some 70% of Syrian children outside camps do not have access to any form of education.

> In Lebanon fewer than 25% of Syrian children are enrolled in public education.

> In Iraq enrolment rates decrease dramatically for children 12 and above with girls of all ages slightly more likely to attend school than boys.

> Non-formal education caters to only around 10% of registered school-age children.