KnowTalks 2022 discuss ‘Enabling the Private Sector's Participation in Development' and ‘Bioinformatics' at the Frankfurt International Book Fair

Frankfurt, 25 October 2022: The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) hosted two panel discussions as part of the KnowTalks 2022 series in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the knowledge partner. The sessions were held during the fourth day of MBRF’s participation in the Frankfurt International Book Fair 2022, which is held in Frankfurt, Germany under the theme ‘Words Connect Worlds’, with the participation of 7500 exhibitors from 100 countries around the world.

Enabling the Private Sector’s Participation in Development

The first of the virtual sessions, titled ‘Enabling the Private Sector’s Participation in Development’, discussed a number of themes related to the importance of the private sector's participation in the process of economic growth and prosperity, and its supportive role in the process of economic development as one of the most important and effective sectors in the development process.

The session saw the participation of Nicole Manger, Lead Multilateral Data & Innovation Policy, German Federal Foreign Office, who explained the importance of data collection and management. Such data is obtained by building relationships with large private companies such as Google, where operations are regularly framed with companies and institutions in the private sector. The aim is to harmonize the mentality between legislators and owners of companies to build relations and cooperation between the two parties.

Manger emphasized the importance of involving the private sector in the government labor market in order to achieve sustainable economic growth, and to set sustainable goals that ensure the achievement of an effective partnership between the public and private sectors and society, which will lead to sustainable economic and social development.

Manger also highlighted the role of technological systems in accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals, pointing out that there are many challenges facing governments in this regard, but the main goal lies in the desire of private sector institutions to participate and achieve integration between government and private sector institutions to improve the quality of life in societies.

Bioinformatics: Revolutionizing Healthcare

The second session titled “Transforming Education to Ensure Workforce Readiness for the Future” saw the participation of Pierre Khoueiry, Team Leader and Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research. The session discussed the importance of bioinformatics in analyzing and interpreting the secrets of human genes.

Khoueiry stated that bioinformatics is one of the most important multidisciplinary fields in the biosciences, and that DNA has many properties that make it an ideal choice for storing information. He added that all humans on the planet share the DNA sequence and measurement, with very slight differences, and that it changes gradually as people age, pointing out that bioinformatics benefits from all fields and scientific developments, and its usefulness lies in the study of variation and human evolution.

Khoueiry also explained that bioinformatics began to emerge and spread since the beginning of the new millennium, and there are still many insights and research that will be published based on bioinformatics.

Khoueiry further emphasized that we now know of more than 1.1 billion sequences of the human genome thanks to technology in the new generation, as it has helped accelerate our access to information. He also called on educational institutions to qualify their graduates, keeping pace with the requirements of the labor market in the field of bioinformatics.

MBRF’s participation in the Frankfurt International Book Fair has seen great success, as it has had a busy and varied schedule during the fair, which will host over 4000 events, panel discussions, and seminars with the most notable writers and figures in the publishing industry.

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