On the heels of her presentation at Abu Dhabi’s Festival of Thinkers and before leaving the Gulf Region, last Thursday Debra Amidon met with a small group of local business leaders in Bahrain to introduce them to her vision of the Knowledge Economy.

Considered an architect of the Knowledge Economy as early as 1995, Amidon is the chairman and CEO of Entovation International, a global innovation research and consulting network. Amidon often speaks on such topics as knowledge management, e-learning networks, customer innovation and enterprise transformation, with her advice sought by both government and private organizations. Her 2003 book, “The Innovation Superhighway,” emphasizes the necessity of innovation in the global Knowledge Economy or, as she also terms it, “Knowledge in Action.”

Amidon has moved far from simply advocating innovation. She is now working to encourage the creation of Knowledge Innovation Zones which will help all countries take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the global economy. In her remarks in Abu Dhabi about the Knowledge Economy, Amidon stated: “Ours is a future to innovate. Change is inevitable ... and constructive change is innovation. Knowledge is the asset to be harnessed. Innovation is the process where knowledge is created, converted into products and services and commercialized in a worldwide market — all enabled by unprecedented advances in technology.”

Amidon believes that in the 21st century the most successful nations will be those that best harness the intellectual capital of people — and all of these thinkers will not necessarily be citizens of those nations.

“Sixty percent of what a nation needs to know to succeed is outside its borders. Get the competitive language out of your system,” Amidon asserts. “To become a world leader others must be interested to invest in your success.”

On this, her first visit to the Gulf, Amidon was fast learning about the culture of the area and the challenges to be faced in order for Gulf nations to take advantage of the possibilities offered by a Knowledge Economy.

“Innovation in the Gulf is like a bamboo shoot. A bamboo shoot spends many years under ground and then it just peeks its head up like a seedling and it just shoots up very quickly. The Festival of Thinkers in Abu Dhabi and the Knowledge Village in Dubai are examples of the explosion of activity we are seeing in the region. Frankly, I think the world is thirsty to know more about the region’s culture and I would hope it is an opportunity nations here will embrace.”

When people in the Gulf first hear about the creation of a Knowledge Economy, they might worry that what is being advocated is a replacement of traditional values with Western society, but Amidon explained that this isn’t the case. She was very reassuring that while in a Knowledge Economy certain cultural norms might change, traditional values generally remained the same although they might be supplemented by certain new values.

“The Knowledge Economy will bring some new values such as transparency and collaboration — the way we inter-react and inter-relate with each other,” Amidon said. “For the most part though there won’t be a radical change in values. Every culture is different. Every culture is unique. There is no way to take the learnings from one culture and plop them on another culture. That is not the intent. There is a way to learn from the evolution of other cultures to determine what your own strengths are, what your own heritage is and then determine what kind of position you want to hold on the global stage.”

To become strong international leaders, however, it is certain that Gulf nations will need to develop societies that value knowledge, innovation and international collaboration. The bottom line is that in the global Knowledge Economy all roads lead to education.

“How nations consider the topic of education is not just a Saudi Arabian issue or a Middle Eastern issue. All over the world we have to develop our educational systems to teach children how to think not what to think,” said Amidon. “The reality is that the life of knowledge is changing dramatically and quickly. It’s likely that 80 percent of what college students learn while earning their degree is obsolete by the time they graduate. So in that regard it isn’t a matter of the what, it’s a matter of how people become very resourceful and treat learning as a lifetime way of living.”

Asked by an Arab journalist about the costs of moving to a Knowledge Economy, Amidon’s snappy comeback was, “What is the cost of ignorance in a global Knowledge Economy?”

She then added that the costs of creating a Knowledge Economy are not necessarily financial.

“The costs are things such as having mind share, setting appropriate priorities and not doing what no longer brings value. There’s a new courageous leadership emerging that must set the frame and the vision so appropriate dialogue can occur to create a Knowledge Economy.”

As for the role women might play in a new Knowledge-based Economy, Amidon felt that it was only a matter of time before Gulf women were able to use more of their God-given intellect and talents to further the prosperity of their nations.

“I think there’s a paradox here. In this culture there appears to be a reverence for women and a protection of women,” she said. “The women I’ve met during my stay are quite articulate, quite well educated and are not afraid to share their thoughts and insights. I think that as more Middle Eastern men start to interface with forums outside the region they will begin to realize that women do have a role to play, their voices need to be heard and they need to be visible. That doesn’t mean that they won’t wear the same clothing, even the veil. As for women fitting into this new economy, why attempt to establish your future with half of your brain? The other half may have something significant to contribute.”