We Strive to Make Knowledge Accessible and Free to Everyone
Author: Alissar Bassam Ghanem
After almost two years at Bayt al-Hikma 2.0, it’s clear to me now what this project is offering to both the Arab world and me personally in knowledge and more.
The opportunity this project has given me to help my country and the world is priceless. It has placed us, females, on an equal level with male translators, and it has given us the freedom to talk about women-specific topics that might not have been welcomed by the Arab world before.
I choose topics that I have always had an interest and passion for: articles on ancient arts, architecture, and civilizations. Because I majored in architecture at my university, I felt I could offer the project a lot in this field.
The Arab countries are home to many of the oldest and greatest civilizations in the world, and have contributed the most important art in many fields, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, and many others.
Despite this fact, the Arabic content in the different schools of art and architecture in the world is still weak and needs to be enriched.
Ever since I was an architecture student, accessing information in Arabic has been difficult to obtain because it was limited and, if it existed, did not come from a reliable source.
Because of this, I had to look up the information I wanted in English and translate it into Arabic myself, which took me a lot of time and effort. This makes me wonder about students who may not have the time or the knowledge of English to access the information they need.
Bayt al-Hikma 2.0 project promotes knowledge on many fronts
I cannot describe in words what we have given the world in various fields of study. In this project, we attempt to offer students and those interested in the subject a vast array of articles that will help them in their studies and increase their knowledge of civilizations, arts, and architecture of other countries. We have diminished the barrier of access and strive to make knowledge accessible to everyone.
Because Wikipedia is the primary source for students and the general public in the Arab world, Bayt al-Hikma 2.0 is essential in order for individuals to get information.
It also provides the safest way of spreading information despite the vast amount of websites in the Arabic media with false information based on popular traditions and unscientific facts.
This has always been a major problem that affects many aspects of Arab society, and the importance of Arabic content should never be downplayed.
Finally, my confidence in this project is limitless, and I believe that the project has no limitations. Bayt al-Hikma 2.0 will continue to grow and become the spark for other projects in our country to spread secularism and science.
This article was edited by Skyeler Antonino