The youth of Saudi Arabia have gotten a bad rap, and are variously labeled "lazy", "self-absorbed", and "lost".
This may or may not be true. What is indisputable is that they are the future of Saudi Arabia.
In 1932, King Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Saud unified the Kingdom in what was a dream realized. At one point he was also a youth, and he had had the courage to dream.
On this, our National Day, I hope that we will not just reflect on his and our past glories, but instead focus on the challenges that the future holds for our torchbearers — the Kingdom’s youth.
There are sections of modern Saudi society that are taking this challenge head on.
Training programs now exist in most fields of business. Saudization — replacing foreign workers with Saudi nationals — has moved from being a vague ideal to being accepted as a clear business strategy.
And now that the Internet has become an integral part of our everyday lives, today’s youth has come to accept the realities of the economy — not just how it relates to Saudi Arabia, but as a global situation that needs to be handled pragmatically, but not through tinted glasses.
We, the youth of Saudi Arabia, need greater passion, and much less apathy. The evidence for that is all around us. Just pay a visit to your nearest bank, bookstore or restaurant, and you will see the influence of a new emphasis on "consumer satisfaction" — a concept that, until very recently, was completely alien here.
There is also the untapped resource of female youths of Saudi Arabia. With the government working hard to provide them with better business opportunities, and a more prominent role in today’s business environment, Saudi females could be the business leaders of tomorrow. Today women are bank managers, doctors and independent businesswomen, and they were brave enough to break with tradition when it was still risky and frowned upon to do so.
Who could even begin to imagine the contribution female youths could give to our country, were they to be properly supported and nurtured?
Yes, it is possible to be traditional and at the same time to evolve and develop. Yes, it is possible to hold on to our values, and at the same time to broaden our horizons. Today’s debate over whether to introduce English earlier in the school curriculum should not be taking place at all. If you pick up any of the Kingdom’s newspaper and check the classifieds section, you will quickly see that the majority of jobs require a Saudi who is fluent in the English language and has competent computer skills.
Where is the logic in delaying the inevitable?
The world today is indeed a global village, and by the time we figure out some of the answers to today’s most pressing questions some of those questions might not even be relevant any more. We have to act on what we believe in now.
To reap rewards tomorrow, we must plant the seeds of growth today.