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1001 Inventions Exhibition Launches in Los Angeles

26 July 2011

This video was produced by 1001 Inventions, sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives.

Speakers include Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; professor Salim Al-Hassani, chairman of the board of trustees for the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation; professor Chris Rapley, director of the London Science Museum; Bettany Hughes, historian and TV presenter; Peter Fell of the University of Manchester, United Kingdom; Lord Waldegrave, chairman of Britain’s National Museum of Science and Technology; professor, author and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili; professor M. El-Gomati; and Ian Fenn, head teacher of the Burnage Arts and Media College, United Kingdom.

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[TEXT:] 1001 Inventions

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SECRETARY CLINTON: I’m
delighted to send greetings
to each of you at this

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year’s 1001 Inventions,
celebrating a millennium of

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science and innovation in the
Muslim world.

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This exhibition honors the
remarkable accomplishments of

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Muslims throughout history: from
a woman who founded a university

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in the ninth century, to a
13th-century inventor

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and mechanical engineer, to a
surgeon whose writings

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influenced European medicine for
hundreds of years,

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and so many more.

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And of course, we’re looking at
the impact of

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technology in the Muslim world
right now as young people

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throughout the Middle East and
North Africa find new ways to

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use social networking to get
organized

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and to express their
aspirations.

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Connection technologies offer an
unprecedented opportunity:

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a platform through which
everyone,

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from farmers to students to
entrepreneurs, can exchange

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ideas and hatch plans for the
world’s next great invention.

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But technology does not
decide the future; people do.

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So as this exhibition shows, the
Muslim world has a proud history

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of innovators.

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Now is the time to tap into that
legacy to

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harness the power of science and
technology, and to create new

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pathways to prosperity.

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This is an exciting day,

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and thank you for letting me
share it with you.

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[TEXT:] 1001 Inventions

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[TEXT] A Global Phenomenon

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[TEXT] Over 1,000,000
Exhibition Visitors

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12,000,000 Film Downloads

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BEN KINGSLEY AS AL-JAZARI:
Take a look. If you dare.

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STUDENT 1:
What’s going on?

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KINGSLEY: Welcome to “The Dark Ages.”

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Or, as it should be known, “The
Golden Ages.”

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SALIM AL-HASSANI:
We have about a thousand years

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of amnesia which is called “The
Dark Ages.”

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CHRIS RAPLEY:
In the West, we went through

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“The Dark Ages,” and, if you
like, the candle of

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human knowledge and
understanding

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was carried by the Islamic
world.

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AL-HASSANI:
That’s the story

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we want to give. It’s like a
shock.

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“Ah, inventions! Do these
people have inventions?”

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they say. Well, of course
they do!

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NARRATOR:
1001 Inventions is a global
educational initiative.

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Imagine a world of science
1,000 years ago

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that shaped the world
today.

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BETTANY HUGHES:
This is a world that was lost

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to so many people, and an

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exhibition like this brings it
back to life

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and shares all those
extraordinary achievements.

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PETER FELL: I think this is
quite crucial because what it

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does is illustrate the shared
heritage that we all have.

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We talk about a global society
today, but equally,

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in the seventh, eighth, ninth and
10th centuries,

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society was global then as well.

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AL-HASSANI: This
new space is using the

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historical roots of science as a
means and as a

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tool for social cohesion
and cultural convergence,

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where people respect and
harmonize with each other.

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[TEXT:] A Magical Film

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[TEXT:] Over 25 Prestigious
Film Awards

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[TEXT] Ben Kingsley plays
Al-Jazari

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STUDENT 1: Er, excuse me, where
are we going?

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Al-Jazari: From darkness into
light, my young friend.

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From ocean on to land.

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There are things you should
know.

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Oh yes, indeed!

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[TEXT] Inspired by our
bestselling book

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[TEXT] A World Class Exhibition

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[TEXT] Launched in London

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[TEXT] Now across the world

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BBC NEWS PRESENTER: It’s got a
huge water-powered clock,

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instruments for measuring the
stars,

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and a dark room from the ninth
century.

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And on top of all that,

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it can explain why numbers are
written the way they are.

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A new exhibition traces how
the Muslim civilization has

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influenced science for the
last thousand years.

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LORD WALDEGRAVE: It’s a
wonderful teaching resource

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we’ve now got here.

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VISITOR 1: We’ve learned how to
translate words from English to

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Arabic in a matter of seconds.

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VISITOR 2: If they never thought
of any this back then,

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we wouldn’t be having cameras
and cinemas nowadays.

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FELL: The exhibition is a
blockbuster.

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In London we had 450,000 people
through the doors.

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Similar number in Istanbul.

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And here in New York we’re
beginning to track large numbers

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of people into the Hall of
Science.

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VISITOR 3 (speaking in Turkish):
I recommend everyone
to come and visit here.

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Such a lovely place

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Visitor 4 (speaking in Turkish):
Very good indeed.
I recommend it to everyone.

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I’ve learnt lots of scientific
and historic facts.

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JIM AL-KHALILI:
During this period,

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it may have been part of
the Islamic empire,

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but there were great Jewish,
Christian scholars working
here ...

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M. EL-GOMATI:
... Sabean, Hindus, Buddhists...

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AL-KHALILI: They were
Persians, they were Arabs,

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they were Turks, they were
Chinese, they were Indian —

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it’s just a period in history
that people in the West

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don’t seem to know about.

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HUGHES: There are women
who did things like

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set up universities, who
invented scientific experiments,

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and they’re really celebrated
in this exhibition.

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LORD WALDEGRAVE: It’s done with
wonderful imagination and flair,

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as well as good scholarship.

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AL-HASSANI: You will learn,

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but you will be excited.

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IAN FENN: I’m just completely
enchanted by it.

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AL-HASSANI: It’s not
just nice pictures

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and electronics.

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Every word and letter
has been thoroughly vetted

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by academic peers.

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We have a galaxy of historians
of science from

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around the world.

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AL-KHALILI:
This is historical fact, guys.

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The world may not know about it,
but they should do.

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AL-HASSANI:
It’s a new space.

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It’s a breath of fresh air.

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We are having a journey to the
past,

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but it’s for building and
designing a better future.

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[TEXT] Globally sponsored by
Abdul Latif Jameel Community
Initiatives

[TEXT] 1000 Inventions, an initiative
of Foundation for Science Technology
and Civilisation

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/iipdigital-en/index.html)