Communicate Co.

The partner:
Demographic statistics indicate that the rate of growth of the Arab population is one
of the highest in the world. Young people under the age of 24 will make up more
that 55% of the total population and only 50% of high school leavers with appropriate
qualifications are able to gain access to a university.
A pan-Arab distance teaching institution is seen as the only realistic mechanism for
increasing access for this group and for the high numbers of unsatisfied applicants
from previous years. Distance education would provide a significantly increased
opportunity for women to access higher education particularly in those areas where a
strict Islamic code is applied.
The Arab Open University was supported financially in its developmental phase by
AGFUND (Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organisations).