(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) DUBAI, Sept 5 (KUNA) -- Secretary-General of Kuwait Writers Association Talal Al-Rumaidhi said the Arab intelligentsia shoulder a great responsibility in enlightening their societies amid the accelerated changes and mounting challenges in the Arab region.
"The message they deliver is that of sincere reform away from any personal narrow-minded interests," Al-Rumaidhi said in a speech to a symposium Monday on the role of Arab intelligentsia at the moment.
The symposium is part of the conference of the Arab Writers Union being held in Dubai.
"The core of this message should be purely patriotic regardless of any other ideological grounds," the Kuwaiti scholar pointed out.
The Arab intelligentsia, particularly the writers, should focus primarily on how to solve the problems of their respective societies, such as the sectarian divisions, through producing civilized and substantive writing, he explained.
Al-Rumaidhi cited as example the historic roles of such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle who left great impacts on their societies and humanity at large.
He paid homage to Kuwaiti pioneers such as Sheikh Youssef bin Isa Al-Qena'ie (1879-1973) who introduced the compulsory education to his country and Musaad bin Abdullah Al-Azmi who advocated the female education.
He also commended the cultural contributions of Abdulaziz Al-Rushaid (1887-1938) who fought to introduce the subjects of English language and geography to public schools in early the 20th century.
"Unless the well-educated shoulder their responsibilities, there will be room for ignorant and deviant people to take their society to abyss," Al-Rumaidhi concluded.
The symposium gathered celebrated writers from various Arab countries to discuss the current challenges in the region. (end) smr.gb