RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah appointed Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah as the deputy chairman of the King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Talent and Creativity (Mawhiba), the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
King Abdullah is the chairman of Mawhiba.
In a statement to the official news agency on the occasion, Prince Faisal said: "King Abdullah is keen on pushing forward the wheel of comprehensive and sustained growth in the Kingdom with constant emphasis on the role of talent, creativity and innovativeness in making the Kingdom a knowledge-based society."
The prince also said he would strive for realizing the aspirations of the king in bringing up a knowledge based society and economy by adopting the strategy of Mawhiba.
The strategy focuses on the vision of the foundation until 2022 and comprises five major initiatives pertaining to science, technology, leadership, initiative and management. Some 30,000 gifted men and women will be sponsored by the foundation and the programs will benefit another 80,000 students.
The foundation also targets talented kids and gives them a chance to learn how to dig for information. The foundation has the support of major international institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Oxford, Cambridge and Texas universities.
