Al-Watan and the Demands of the Future
Travel takes you from one country to another, and even a short vacation affords you space to read and reflect on your own situation and the state of the world around you. How could it be otherwise, when your thoughts are preoccupied—regardless of distance—with the affairs of the homeland that resides in your heart and occupies your mind and intellect? Kuwait and the countries of the region are currently going through a difficult period, facing an unjust aggression whose security and economic repercussions grow more severe as time passes. The leaders of our homeland bear heavy burdens to protect its people and resources. May God assist them.
Amid these events, Kuwait has remained, by God’s grace and through the bravery of its heroes at all posts and the cohesion of its official and popular fronts, an oasis of security and safety. However, this crisis and others have revealed a reality marked by a deficiency in the mechanisms for addressing the nation’s obligations during peacetime and during conflict, such as the one we are experiencing. It also highlights the need to anticipate the requirements for building a future for generations aspiring to development under an era that champions reform and nation-building. This is not an easy task, nor can it be left to chance or personal initiative. Rather, it is led in advanced countries and in some regional countries by specialized centers for opinion polling and future studies, with the aim of determining government priorities and the requirements for development and nation-building during both war and peace.
To underscore the importance of such centers, we note, for example, that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has established more than 12 centers for opinion polling and future studies, including those directly affiliated with government bodies, universities, or private institutions. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates has established 13 centers, comprising government, university, and private entities. In Qatar, there are ten centers with varying functions and affiliations. Some of these centers are linked to global, American, and European institutions specializing in opinion polling, future studies, and the determination of political and government priorities, as well as the requirements for economic, social, urban, and cultural development programs.
In Kuwait, however, such official centers have been absent, or their role has diminished. The only existing center affiliated with Kuwait University has seen its impact wane. A few small private centers, numbering no more than three or four, have focused primarily on polling for parliamentary elections in the past or on specific tasks assigned by certain government bodies.
The time has come to make efforts to complete the establishment of state institutions responsible for anticipating future obligations, determining the priorities and requirements for building the nation’s renaissance, and supporting government decisions at all levels. I consider this task essential and believe it should be placed on the agenda of the Cabinet of Ministers as soon as possible. May God assist them, and may God protect Kuwait from all harm and evil. God is the ultimate source of success.
Dr. Moudi Abdulaziz Al-Humoud
