Chairperson of 'Oman Science Festival 2026' Scientific Committee Praises KFAS Participation in Science Festival

Dr. Maysa Al-Azri, Chair of the Scientific Committee for the “Oman Science Festival 2026,” praised the “qualitative” participation of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) and its affiliated centers in the festival, which has been held in Muscat since November 2 and runs for ten days.

Speaking to KUNA, Dr. Al-Azri, who serves as Director General of the Directorate of Scientific Innovation and Artificial Intelligence at the Omani Ministry of Education, stated that “the Kuwaiti participation enhanced the scientific and cultural aspects of the festival and left a positive impact on its main and accompanying events,” expressing her pride in the Omani-Kuwaiti scientific partnership.

She added that “the Kuwaiti Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, through its pavilion featuring booths from several of its affiliated centers, attracted significant visitor interest due to its organizers’ reliance on delivering scientific knowledge through practical and interactive methods.”

In this regard, she highlighted the attention received by the scientific workshops and lectures presented by the foundation as part of the festival’s accompanying events, affirming the success of Kuwait’s first participation in the Sultanate’s most important scientific event.

She expressed hope that this success would translate into larger partnerships in the near future across various scientific and cultural programs and activities between the two brotherly countries, emphasizing the Sultanate’s commitment to attracting Gulf participation in major events and conferences it organizes.

Regarding the festival’s history, Dr. Al-Azri noted that the first edition launched in 2017 within a scientific framework that highlighted the educational approach known as STEAM, which integrates science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, using interactive concepts with the public.

In this context, she affirmed that the festival’s objective is to convey scientific, knowledge-based, and innovative concepts to the broadest segment of society, while also guiding students toward specializations linked to the skills required for future job market positions.

She clarified that all members of society are involved in awareness-raising and promoting scientific culture; therefore, the festival attracted various government, private, and civil and military institutions to offer interactive activities and programs that differ from conventional formats.

She pointed out that the second edition in 2019 was held on a larger scale in terms of area, programs, number of participants, and duration, focusing on the connection between the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and daily life. A theater was also dedicated to hosting scientific competitions and simple visual presentations interactively with visitors of all ages.

Dr. Al-Azri stated that the festival’s editions in 2022 and 2024 witnessed expansion and a qualitative leap in the number of participants, event organizers, and visitors, with the exhibition area reaching 12,000 square meters. She explained that the third edition focused on returning to normalcy after the (corona) pandemic, while the fourth emphasized resource sustainability.

Regarding external participation, the Omani official emphasized the commitment to attracting participants from outside the Sultanate, enabling the festival to progress from a local to a regional and then global level. She noted important scientific participations, including from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and countries in East Asia.

As for the number of visitors to the current edition, which carries the slogan “Our Compass is Science,” Dr. Al-Azri predicted that the number would exceed 200,000 visitors. She expressed hope that the festival would continue its success and serve as the ideal platform for innovation, passion, and experimentation, thereby positioning the Sultanate among the top 20 countries in the Innovation Index, in line with “Oman Vision 2040.”