The conference in Bahrain immediately gave rise to a complex expression of opinion over the implications of globalization for Arab higher education. To summarize that all the opinion seems essential for visitors to Bahrian. At the same time, like a real expression of serious opinion by academics, it can not be collapsed into a simply summary without some loss. Below is a summary which, while it does no doubt lose someting to simplification, nevertheless conveys the general sense of the discussion of globalization that took place.

Throughout presentations, roundtables, luncheon conversations, and other forums, a fundamental, dicotymous debate about globalization and its implications for the Arab world dominated Tuesday, the first day of the two day conference. Those on both sides agreed globalization was a mighty force, making itself increasingly felt in the closing decades of the 20th Century. The two sides disagreed, though, over how Arab states and peoples should react to globalization. Some feared that all who did not expeditiously embrace globalization would be left out of the modern world, and that the best course was to embrace it swiftly. Others argued that globalization would destroy Arab identity, and urged that globalization be approached with great caution. Various actions were urged by various participants. Among them were: (1) eliminating the illiteracy of the general population which is so wide-spread in Arab countries, (2) improving education at all levels in globally significant subjects like math, science, and English, and (3) increasing and improving the study of Arabic language and the fabric of Arab identity. The positive result of the debate was not its resolution but its effect. Most participants ended the conference realizing that, however one conceptualizes it, globalization has crucial implications for Arab education at all levels.

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