JEDDAH: The second Saudi-British Youth Forum will be held in Jeddah and Riyadh Jan. 10-16 with 48 young men and women from Saudi Arabia and Britain participating.
The International Commerce Committee (ICC) of the Saudi Council of Chambers (SCC) will organize the 7-day event in collaboration with the Saudi Foreign Ministry and the British Youth Council (BYC).
The forum is aimed at further boosting cultural dialogue and partnership through pioneer projects designed by youths from the two sides, which are funded by the ICC, the SCC and the BYC. The projects will be presented to the Two Kingdoms’ Dialogue (a Saudi-UK joint dialogue project) that will be held next March.
The participants will endeavor to unravel the common values and objectives and will come up with joint projects to reinforce the participation of youth in the dialogue of cultures in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
The pioneer projects, which will be taken up at the Two Kingdoms’ Dialogue, should accomplish a number of objectives including the encouragement of dialogue among cultures and the participation of youths in them. They should be appropriate, well designed and easy to monitor.
From the part of the Kingdom, the forum will be attended by: the National Dialogue Center, Effat College, Dar Al-Hekma College, the Program of Youth Enablement and the British Council while from the British side the participants will consist of: the Islamic Relief Organization, the Minorities’ Organization in Europe, the European Alternatives Organization in addition to a firm specializing in youth training.
The youth projects were a product of the first forum that was held in Britain in November 2007.
Saudi Arabian Airlines has been made the official carrier of the forum which will be sponsored by a number of companies including the Jihan Holding Company, the Supreme Commission for Tourism, the Finik Group, the Arabian Tents, the Nasmah Holding Company and Al-Shitaiwi for Tourism. Saudi Aramco will host all the participants for a whole day to visit one of its sites. Top Saudi painters will display their artistic works that highlight heritage and originality during the forum. There will also be an exhibition for folklore dancing and traditional costumes.