Abu-Ghazaleh in a Digital Talk: We should Turn Crises into Blessings

AMMAN - HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), stated that the only way to get out of the crises is to turn them into  blessings, to stop wasting time and to overcome obstacles.

During a digital discussion session organized by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum (TAG-KF) entitled "Knowledge Revolution in The Face of Corona" through live streaming with the participation of many interested people, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh expressed pride in being a knowledge worker, an Arab nationalist, and a Palestinian-Jordanian.

He said that the world has embraced the Knowledge Revolution, yet unfortunately, a number of people have not realized that it is an independent revolution similar to the first, second and third industrial revolutions, and not a mere traditional pattern or a periodic development. He added that the knowledge revolution differs from all previous revolutions which were related to a specific field like the agricultural and the industrial ones. The knowledge revolution depends on information and communication technology in everything in our life. That's why it can be described as the nervous system of countries and societies that controls all aspects of human life, He asserted.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh also affirmed that the only option now is to transform to a digital-based society since the time of the Knowledge Revolution has come, citing a well-known inspirational quote 'You can fight an army, but you cannot fight an idea whose time has come."

Furthermore, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh stated that one of the most important aspects of this revolution is that theCoronavirus crisis proved that those who can work digitally can work in all circumstances and they can overcome the pandemic. He specifically referred to some benefits of this revolution in China where nurse robots were recently used instead of human staff at hospitals; while in Canada they called the digital government the 'Government of the Best Services' since it proved to be the best solution to get rid of corruption, nepotism (Wasta) and favoritism.

Additionally, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh highly commended and applauded the government efforts in fighting Covid-19 and its ability to save lives, urging the need of utilizing technology in preserving the economy and securing a safe future.

In his capacity as the Chairman of TAG.Global, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh led, during the corona crisis lockdown, the knowledge transformation which the TAG-Global had set up years ago. Accordingly, the Organization has not faced any difficulties in working remotely in all its 110 offices around the world and without any delay. This proves, according to Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh, that the digital knowledge and digital work prevail over all crises and TAG.Global has won over the Coronavirus pandemic without laying off any of their staffs. On the contrary, TAG-Global continued paying salaries to all employees without any deductions. Moreover, it paid and pledged to pay an additional salary (two salaries a month) to employees working in countries where their currency was devalued such as in Syria and Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh addressed the youth, entrepreneurs, and owners of small enterprises and startups, as they are the most affected businesses by this crisis, saying that "success is a decision and so is happiness. Everything in the world is a decision, you can continue your work by your determination to succeed."

He also pointed out that all institutions have started small and then grew up and expanded, as TAG.Global, which started from the trunk of a car. Armed with patience and insistence to achieve its goals, TAG.Global succeeded and did not submit to one single failure during its long career'. Abu-Ghazaleh expressed his pride in the Arab countries and people. In addition, he reiterated his belief that a new Arab civilization will emerge and regain leadership as it did in its golden ages.

For his part, Executive Director of TAG-KF and TAG.Global Education and Youth Consultant, Mr. Fadi Daoud, who moderated the session, pointed out that the digital talk with Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh was organized as part of a series of digital meetings and talks in the times of Coronavirus, conducted by the Forum in a live broadcast through TAG-KF Facebook page.

It is noteworthy to mention that the 40-minute digital session has gained great attention and interest from various segments of the society and a number of countries in the Arab world, with more than 11 thousand views.