Discovery Knowledge Flashcards
This program, titled “Celebrating Education: Continuing our Legacy into the Future” is an opportunity to
This program, titled “Celebrating Education: Continuing our Legacy into the Future” is an opportunity to enlighten the Jamat about the Purpose of Education and Discovery, Sharing, and Application of Knowledge in Islam. These concepts have been pulled from a range of sources and are a part of a global education campaign for the Diamond Jubilee year. This session will culminate in a discussion on the Fields and Skills of the Future, critical to our ability to lead in the Knowledge Society of today and in the future. We will share Mawlana Hazar Imam’s guidance and talk about some trends. Ultimately, our hope is that the Jamat will develop future plans and work toward the Imam’s vision of Knowledge Leadership while keeping in mind the Purpose of Education, the emerging fields of the future, and critical skills and attitudes.
To Whom Does This Guide Apply?
- Thinking about the future is not limited to young people in our Jamat. In reality, thinking about the future, for our children, is an entire community activity.
- Furthermore, Hazar Imam is constantly stressing lifelong learning, and the fact that the world is changing. So all Jamati Members could benefit from thinking about how the world is changing and the impact of that on their future.
What Questions Might You Be Asking?
Today we will try and answer some of the following questions –
What is the Knowledge Society?
How can I engage in the discovery and sharing of knowledge?
What is the purpose of education?
What are some fields of study that might position me well for the fields of the future?
I will do my best to cover these materials in a half an hour, but know that this presentation and the theme month, are a dialogue, to ask and answer these questions amongst ourselves to better position ourselves for the future.
Agenda
We will begin with the purpose of education in Islam.
Talk a little about leadership in the Knowledge Society
and finally a bit on fields of the future.
Purpose of Education
The first is to understand and learn about Allah’s creation.
The second is to serve creation and the community.
Hazar Imam has talked extensively about global knowledge transfer and impact, particularly in countries of need. And when he sends TKN volunteers to Central Asia and Pakistan and East Africa, he’s doing so to aid in the global knowledge transfer.
Knowledge and Education in Action
And so when we consume knowledge, whether it be through going to school, or attending an IPN event, we are increasing the stock of the knowledge that we as a Jamat have and we can use that knowledge to aid in the sharing and application of knowledge. We can attempt to discover new knowledge. Consider for a moment why we say “discover knowledge,” vs. “create knowledge.” Discovery = peeling back the layers of what Allah (s.w.t.) has created already – discovery is just humanity’s process of starting to find or understand these layers.
And those in turn, increase our understanding of Allah’s creation and improve the quality of life for all creation.
Community + Individualistic Orientation
In Islam, the pursuit of knowledge is not only for individual gain.
For the young folks in the Jamat, we should be asking ourselves, what do I want to be when I grow up? But also, how do I want to help others and the globe when I grow up?
And similarly, as parents and grandparents, we should be asking our children and grandchildren – what difference do I want to make in this world?
Agenda
And so these things, the purpose of education as serving our community and the learning about Allah’s creation, these things have always been true. And so now, we come to the part of the talk that talks about what is changing in the world, and how we want to take advantage of the changing landscape.
Evolution of the Knowledge Society
Have someone read the quote.
Where the predominant source of influence will stem from information, intelligence and insight
How do we tie these two topics together… I’ve been talking about the purpose of education and we can all recite farmans that emphasize the importance of education. I want you to think about how new areas of knowledge as an opportunity to improve the human condition. This KS will confront us with new opportunities
What Does Knowledge Society Leadership Look Like?
Leadership in the Knowledge Society has these three components.
And to be a leader in the Knowledge Society, you have to do all three – discover knowledge, share knowledge, and consume knowledge.
Foundational Skills and Attitudes for Knowledge Leadership
And so the institutions, taking guidance from Hazar Imam and combining that guidance with a variety of sources, has come up with these foundational skills and attitudes for knowledge leadership.
[[Talk about a few]]
AKU and Nursing in Pakistan
One example of this has been AKU in Pakistan.
Cycle of knowledge – Muslims had spearheaded knowledge discovery in the field of medicine for many centuries (e.g. Ibn Sina), and subsequent bodies of knowledge in medicine in the West were based on those foundations. Once AKU was established, it borrowed from the knowledge housed in the West (knowledge sharing and application) and established a school of nursing that has become a foundational center of discovery of knowledge in the fields of nursing and medicine, as well as a conduit for the application of knowledge for the betterment of quality of life. As a result of AKU’s impact, the nursing profession in Pakistan has been transformed into a respected profession that requires rigorous training. Many nurses, families of nurses, and patients of nurses have been uplifted directly and indirectly, as well
Celebration of Muslim Intellectual Heritage
Have someone read.
Commitment to learning was a central element. And so in the process of thinking about our future, we should also remember our past. A time when Muslim scholars were making central contributions to science and mathematics. To know that we too are part of that tradition and to renew that commitment to education.
And Hazar Imam, here references commitments made as part of prior Jubilees - AKU. UCA is a central part of the Diamond Jubilee goals.
Transition Slide
How Should We Use This Section?
The last part of the presentation is discussing more tangibly these opportunities associated with the fields of the future and thinking about how to plan for the future
So we think of this section as having four major parts
The first is developing your own future plan. What are you personally interested in? How do you want to serve? What skills and tasks do you excel in?
Then, with those personal characteristics, we can review guidance regarding trends. And that is where the bulk of my attention is going to be focused today. Informing you of the trends.
The third part is to understand the required skills and attitudes required for knowledge leadership.
How Far Out
When you plan, you want to be thinking about what the trends are and where they will take the world in the next 5, 10, 15 and more years. Why? Because the world is changing extremely quickly. And because it is changing so quickly, we want to be ready for those changes. And forecast what the future might look like 20 or 30 years down the line.
