ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF RCSI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF BAHRAIN CAMPUS
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF RCSI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF BAHRAIN CAMPUS TUESDAY, 3RD FEBRUARY 2009
Your Highness, Minister O’Keeffe, Excellencies, former Taoiseach Dr FitzGerald, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I am delighted to be here with you on this day of special celebration to officially open the campus of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Medical University of Bahrain. For many people here today it marks the end of a long journey of planning and construction. For all of us it marks a very important milestone in the thirty-year relationship between Ireland’s distinguished Royal College of Surgeons and the government of Bahrain. For the people of Bahrain today is a welcome landmark in the delivery of healthcare education in the Gulf.
The work of the RCSI Medical University of Bahrain did not begin in this magnificent building with its beautifully interwoven Celtic designs and Islamic motifs. It all started over four years ago much more modestly in temporary premises in the Seef district of Manama which were opened by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. It opened with 27 students. Today 540 full and part-time students from thirty countries enjoy these elegant and outstanding facilities. While the building speaks eloquently of how well the Celtic and Islamic heritages sit together, the work that goes on here speaks volumes about how well the Irish and the Bahrainis work together.
Of course the 350 Irish who make their home in Bahrain can be found in a wide variety of workplaces, from those working with our Electricity Supply Board which has been here since 1974; Aer Rianta, the Irish duty-free company which has its Middle East headquarters here; as well as Irish construction companies and other enterprises. Like the RCSI, they have all found Bahrain to be a friendly, open place to live, with a well-regulated business environment.
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland fitted easily into this setting, building local relationships marked by strong personal and professional trust. With the encouragement of His Highness, the Prime Minister, himself an Honorary Fellow of the College, a new chapter was begun in the history of the RCSI and in the history of health education in Bahrain.
The facilities of the Medical University of Bahrain are among the most modern available anywhere in the world but they draw on a scientific Arab heritage that is among the most ancient and influential in the world. Much of today’s medicine has its historical roots in Arab science of the Middle Ages. Al-Kindi demonstrated the application of mathematics to medicine, particularly pharmacology. Abu Al-Qasim is regarded as the father of modern surgery. Al-Nafees was the first to describe coronary and pulmonary circulation – some three centuries before Harvey. And the legendary Ibn Sina, sometimes known as, Avicenna, is considered the father of modern medicine. His Canon of Medicine and Book of Healing were standard medical textbooks up to the 17th century. His work covers a vast range of medical subjects including, some assert, even the beginnings of psychiatry.
There is a link with Ireland here, for records of the enormous Arab contributions to the physical sciences, mathematics and particularly medicine, can be found in the historical manuscripts preserved in Dublin. The libraries at Trinity College, the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, the Chester Beatty Library and Marsh’s Library house formidable collections of invaluable Arabic manuscripts of major religious, scientific and medical significance. The Chester Beatty Library, in particular, has much contact with the Beit Al-Qur’an.
With such a respected heritage to draw from, with now the finest of contemporary facilities, the RCSI Medical University of Bahrain is providing healthcare education and training to world class standards; in undergraduate courses in medicine, nursing and midwifery as well as postgraduate studies in nursing, healthcare ethics and law. The curricula have been developed by the RCSI to the highest international standards with qualifications that are recognised worldwide.
RCSI, founded in Dublin in 1784, is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving human health through education, research and service. It has served Ireland well and has an outstanding global reputation which has created demand for its services far from Ireland’s shores. It has established medical schools in Penang, Malaysia and, most recently Dubai, as well as running fellowship courses and examinations in surgery in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Jordan. Everywhere I go in the world, without exception, from Norway to Beijing, I am sure to meet someone who is a graduate of RCSI. At RCSI’s Dublin headquarters it has always been something of a mini United Nations, for over 80% of its students come from abroad and over 45 different countries are represented on its student body. Not only has it moulded great medical graduates, it has also created a body of ambassadors both for the Royal College and for Ireland, putting us on the map as a global leader in the delivery of healthcare education.
Today we rightly focus on medical education but it is worth remarking that Ireland has a profound commitment to education generally which has made it a very attractive place for international students in many disciplines. They form a vital part of Ireland’s engagement with the world - socially, culturally, intellectually and economically. The friendships made last a lifetime and they serve as important bridges between cultures and peoples who might otherwise remain strangers to one another. Each of those relationships breaks down barriers of language and culture. Each one opens us up to one another humanly, gives us access to each other’s rich heritage and helps to make our world a place of friends, trusted colleagues and good neighbours. We need that investment in one another and we need more of it, for as the global economic crisis has demonstrated, the global human family lives in one another’s shadow, interconnected and mutually dependent to a much higher degree than we often admit.
Coming to grips with diversity and difference, indeed of celebrating and harnessing them as a source of great creativity, is something which happens every day in this place as a matter of course and routine. It needs to become the norm through every part of our shared earth if future generations are to know peace and secure prosperity.
I commend His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa for his exemplary vision in supporting this partnership with the RCSI, from the very start. His Highness has contributed enormously to the welfare of his own and other nations - his deep commitment to the healthcare of the people of Bahrain is very evident. Ireland is grateful for the trust you have placed in us and in our renowned Royal College and for this chance to prove the great value of international partnerships placed fully and entirely at the service of humanity.
I wish the RCSI Medical University of Bahrain and the government of Bahrain every success in their joint endeavours. To those who forged this trust and this partnership, to those who sustain it and those who will develop it, I say a massive thank you for such dedication and such innovation. You have given both Ireland and Bahrain a very proud day today and much to look forward to.
Thank you.