Egyptian-American chemist Ahmed Zewail

Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail and a host of other scientists from the Arab world gather today in Bibliotheca Alexandrina for the official launch of the “Age of Science”, an NGO with a clear science promotion agenda.

Essam Sharaf, CEO of the Age of Science and previous minister of transportation in Egypt, said the new endeavour “is a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote research, culture, and modern sciences, and to help in the spread of a scientific culture that cherishes research and favours international communication between Egyptian scientists in Egypt and overseas.” He also added that they will try to solve the problems that the nation faces through science-based solutions.

The new NGO is named after Zewail’s Arabic autobiography, which quickly became a bestseller after it was published in 2005. Zewail, who is the head of the honorary board of directors for “The Age of Science”, gave a presentation in the library of Alexandria for the opening that attracted over 5,000 people, mostly youth. People had to line up over four hours before the lecture to get seats, and many had to settle to watching the event on a huge screen set outside the library due to the overcrowded halls.

The honorary board of directors also includes Farouk El-Baz, director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University and Egyptian-American chemical physicist Mostafa El-Sayed, famous for the spectroscopy rule named after him, the El-Sayed rule.

The inspirational chemist, who became a national phenomenon after he won the Nobel Prize, assured attendees that, contrary to what officials say, a science revival can be achieved in 10 to 20 years, rather than over severla generations. He urged the young people to look at what countries like Malaysia were able to achieve, and drew parallels to many of the problems the people in Egypt face today.

Zewail has long called for an overhaul of the education system in Egypt, citing that as the most important step to stop the decline of the country, often criticising the lack of a clear vision and strategy on progress.

Age of Science’s first activity will be to set up a “Science Week”, which will be a chance to spread science among the population and honour exceptional figures in the science community.

They also plan to open several science museums in different cities in Egypt to inspire the younger generations to be excited about science and maybe pursue a career in research in the future.

Personally, I will sit and watch for now, capping my overflowing excitement. This is almost set up perfectly to actually play an active role in generating an interest in science among the general population, but too many disappointments taught me to wait and see before being excited.