Derasat’s 3rd Forum in November on “The Role of Think Tanks in Supporting National Efforts: Countering the Coronavirus Pandemic and Implications”
Date: November 5th, 2020
The Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies ‘Derasat’ announced that it will organize its third annual forum as a video-conference from 24 to 26 November 2020, titled, “The Role of Think Tanks in Supporting National Efforts: Countering the Coronavirus Pandemic and Implications”.
The ‘Derasat’ Forum aims to discuss regional and international think-tank efforts in researching and analyzing the factors and implications of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic; in its multiple levels and aspects that affect individuals, organizations and countries; and requirements to cope with it as a global crisis, with a drastic impact on human activities and development. The forum also provides a platform to present and discuss best practices and lessons learned.
The 3-day, expert-laden forum revolves around the pandemic’s impact on think-tanks and research institutions; their cooperation with national organizations to counter this impact; and their societal contribution to weather its implications. Experts will also discuss various research methodologies and their effects on society; resources required to face the implications of this crisis; effort coordination mechanisms between think-tanks and national organizations; as well as demonstrating a national case study titled, “The Outcomes of Cooperation between ‘Derasat’ and the UNDP”.
The ‘Derasat’ Board of Trustees Chairman, HE Dr. Sh. Abdulla Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said, “The Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies ‘Derasat’ saw the benefits in this year’s forum to accommodate discussion and analysis of think-tank research efforts during the pandemic, and their integration in recovery to restore development and progress”, adding that, “Such impacts are ongoing and all-affecting, which calls for drawing integrated strategies to address the short- and long-term implications.”
‘Derasat’ Chairman explained how research centers in each country rushed to study the pandemic’s development and impacts, in order to advise national efforts on the best resource utilization to counter these impacts. These centers, like ‘Derasat’, have published analytical reports, scientific articles, and organized online discussions; all within a national system. “At this stage, scientifically-viable strategies are crucial in their content and execution for well-planned, future countermeasures to the pandemic’s implications,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Hamad Ebrahim Abdulla, Executive Director of ‘Derasat’ stressed the importance of dialog in writing the details of the post-pandemic strategy, where views of all research centers and national organizations are presented – based on their experiences in dealing with the pandemic.
The strategy should be inspired by lessons currently learned, and factoring in resources, roles and challenges for a complete future perspective, added Dr. Hamad Abdulla.