A Tribute to a Dear Friend and Colleague – Dr. Fathi Jarwan

OPEN is very sad to announce the death of our long-time friend and OPEN champion, Professor Fathi Abdel Rahman Jarwan, Council President of the Arab Council For the Gifted and Talented. Dr. Jarwan was a distinguished and well- known scholar who worked tirelessly across the MENA region and the globe for advancing education for gifted students from every socio-economic level, focusing his life’s work on STEM Education, and creating a well-rounded student graduates.

Dr. Jarwan was the Founding Director of the King Hussein and Queen Noor Jubilee School for the Gifted and Talented, where I met him in early 1999. The Jubilee school and OPEN achieved a number of firsts together – the first international distance learning event in Jordan, first ISDN digital service line and videoconference in Jordan, first National TV broadcast live of those events with the Ministers of Education and Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan, first representative students from the Middle East and Africa region for OPEN’s international programs.

Together we advanced the content of our programs over the early years of OPEN, and in doing so formed a life-long friendship. Dr. Jarwan and his Family and in turn King Abdullah of Jordan and the Royal Court were gracious hosts for OPEN, including us in new education and education technology initiatives for Jordan and the US. We can thank Dr. Jarwan for embracing and promoting our international education work for not only the gifted and talented, but for all students worldwide.

Dr. Jarwan will be long-remembered here at OPEN, and we thank him for his loyalty, support, and his inspiration and love. We send our deepest sympathies to his Family, friends and colleagues. Fathi will be sorely missed.

George Newman Founder and CEO One Planet Education Network (OPEN)