Major youth organizations of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom have started working together on projects that will bring the two countries closer. “We come up with projects in friendly countries that will increase understanding of the common values and interconnectedness of our two nations,” said Deepak Naik, CEO and secretary-general of UK’s Coventry-based Minorities of Europe (MoE).
Enabling young people in both countries to speak out and effect meaningful positive change and developing a model for the regions on how to foster mutual understanding and partnership through youth-led initiatives are also among the objectives, said Naik who was accompanied by Daniel Smith of London-based British Youth Council during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia.
“We support young people learning skills, gaining knowledge and developing capacity building, and with activities we can encourage them to participate in decision-making in society,” said Naik.
Established in 1995, MoE is a pan-European inter-minority network that seeks to support and assist the cooperation, solidarity and exchange between different minority communities and young people in Europe. MoE was established as a result of the Council of Europe’s campaign against racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and intolerance in Europe.
The campaign, entitled “All Different, All Equal,” reflects widespread concerns about the rising levels of racism and xenophobia, and the debilitating sense of isolation endured by many minority groups, not only within their own societies but also with similarly situated groups and communities in other countries, Naik said.
MoE supports and promotes positive intercultural relations between minority and majority communities. It works toward overcoming prejudice among minorities and majorities and the perception of powerlessness that minority young people often feel.
Above all, it initiates and promotes tangible projects and examples of community development between people of different faiths, cultures and traditions, and contributes to the development of an inter-cultural Europe, open to and based upon the contribution and participation of all communities, particularly those facing exclusion and alienation from the process of European integration, said Naik, who started his working life in a factory, moved into financial sales within the life insurance industry, then joined Birmingham City Council as a community development officer and later became an equalities officer.
For over 10 years he successfully developed his consultancy business in areas such as organizational development, diversity training and project management. Naik has also worked in various voluntary organizations holding directorships in five charitable organizations.
“We will realize the objectives by creating a platform that encourages intercultural and understanding between youths of the two Kingdoms, as well as developing and delivering a collectively owned model that supports peaceful bilateral relations and empowers young people to have a voice and bring about positive change in our societies,” he said.
The model will include the development of youth-led grassroots projects that engages diverse social and economic groups, media representatives, academics and government, and also the development of a mechanism for ongoing constructive youth input into the government-led conferences between the two Kingdoms.
The two met officials at some nongovernmental organizations including Riyadh-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center during their stay. “WAMY has assured its full support for our efforts,” Naik said. “We also had a successful meeting with King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center, which aims to make the culture of dialogue and discussion a part of the national culture,” he added.
Both Naik and Smith recalled the success the first UK-Saudi Youth forum achieved in London in October last year. A dozen Saudi youths, including six girls, participated in it. This is being followed by a second forum to be held in the Kingdom later this year.
One of the young Saudis who took part in the London forum said it was a rewarding experience for him. “I thoroughly enjoyed it and realized the usefulness of such interaction for the youth of the two countries,” he said.
What is of importance is that young people from diverse backgrounds come together in such conferences and demonstrate their understanding of the common values and inter-connectedness between the two Kingdoms. Importantly, young people from both countries are able to debate, speak out and be heard on issues that concern them in a safe and facilitated environment without fear of reprisal. “Such conferences go a long way in recognizing the value of supporting youth participation in decision-making and enable open dialogue between young people, which ultimately helps in fostering understanding and partnership between the two nations,” he said, adding that it is well-known that young people have more skills and confidence to effect positive social change in their communities and internationally.
What distinguished the forum was that all participants shared a genuine desire to listen and also learn. “We explored what the key ingredients to cross-cultural dialogue might be and it is no accident that the principles of honesty, constructiveness, respect and understanding were highlighted,” said Tom Le Feuvre of the UK.
Lama Fahr Al-Ghalib of Saudi Arabia was forthright in saying that the forum rightly focused on the need for participation of young people. “They should be given the skills to enable them to participate. They should be made aware of their right to participate,” she said and emphasized that there should be more support for youth-led initiatives such as youth parliaments, school councils and youth projects.
Smith indicated that hosting interns was one of the programs that both countries could conduct. UK organizations would host young Saudis and Saudi organizations could follow suit. “This will help to bring capacity and motivation to deliver in country projects,” Smith added.