Empowering Afghan Youth: Integrating Technology, Knowledge, and National Identity for the Future

(Speech at 11th National Information Technology Conference, Kabul, Afghanistan)

Keypoints: 

• Modern Knowledge – Focus on critical thinking and asking meaningful questions; knowledge is limitless.
• Youth Potential – Afghan youth are creative, resilient, and eager to learn.
• Education Reform – Update curricula and teaching to foster innovation and active participation.
• Collaboration & Freedom – Teachers and students work as partners; academic freedom is essential.
• Technology Integration – Fiber-optic networks and digital access in universities as a foundation for learning.
• National & Cultural Identity – Preserve Afghan and Islamic identity alongside modern education.
• Global Knowledge Access – Internet provides access to knowledge once limited to elite libraries.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Honorable Minister of Higher Education Mr. Moqadas Mohemand, Dr. Qayoumi, Dr. Pirooz, the Honorable German Ambassador, esteemed professors, dear colleagues, and respected students: As-salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh!

We live in a world today where the definitions of knowledge, scholarship, and education are undergoing a fundamental transformation.

Seventy years ago, if someone studied engineering, that knowledge remained stable for nearly fifty years. But today, if someone studies Computer Science, it changes within six months.

For this reason, the definition of science has fundamentally changed. When Dr. Qayoumi and I entered Kabul University, and later the American University of Beirut, science was a finite boundary. One had to master two hundred or four hundred books and hold that information in one's brain. Today, information has become infinite. Therefore, the definition of knowledge is no longer the mastery of a few books—or God forbid, the old notes of our grandfathers.

I am speaking from the heart of the students, am I not? The meaning of science today is the ability to ask the right questions. It is the question that leads one to exploration. If you ask the right question, most of the answers already exist. Memory, therefore, does not hold the same meaning as before. In my time, memory was everything; it was how you proved your knowledge. Today, memory means knowing the pathways to search for solutions, not just containing data. A computer can easily provide the answers of billions of people.

The "Uncolonized" Afghan Mind What is the specific innovation of the Afghan youth? By the grace of God, the brain of the Afghan youth has not yet been "colonized." When I served at the university, I found the Afghan mind to be free and uncolonized. Afghan youth are like wildflowers. You may have a few thorns on the outside, but you are incredibly resilient on the inside. You found knowledge spontaneously because your minds were not restricted by old systems.

The Problem: Outdated Systems Our problem is that our teaching system has not been fundamentally reformed. Students enter their first year with immense passion, but by the fourth year, they are exhausted; their creativity is killed by the university. I remember a professor hitting a student with an eraser because the textbook he was teaching was about the politics of the Soviet Union—even though the Soviet Union no longer existed!

The world today demands freedom of thought. The relationship between teacher and student is changing; they are now partners. No professor in the world can claim absolute mastery over a subject anymore. There is no shame in saying "I don't know." We must accept that knowledge is infinite.

Infrastructure and Identity Technology is now embedded in knowledge. Therefore, the government's priority is to provide the technological infrastructure for knowledge. I have instructed the Minister of Communications, Mr. Wahidi, that the Fiber Optic network must be completed. Every university in Afghanistan must be connected.

Alongside this, we must understand our identity. We were, are, and will always be Muslims and Afghans. Invest in new knowledge, learn fifty other languages, but you must be a master of your own language. Technology and culture are not in conflict.

Closing In the past, I spent years researching the history of Sufi orders. I had to travel hours to the Library of Congress or wait three months for a book from the British Museum. Today, an internet search gives you more information in eight hours than I could find in four years. We are in the midst of an intellectual revolution regarding the history of Islamic science.

I thank Dr. Pirooz, Minister Mohemand, and the German Ambassador for organizing this. I ask that once this conference concludes, you share your proposals and future programs with us so we can make definitive decisions.

Long live Afghanistan!