Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the forum’s final round of competitions, they said the youth forum has been successful in realizing most of its objectives envisaged by the governor.

On the third day of the competitions on Monday, solo performances by 48 boy and girl students from various regions of the province were staged. Among the boy students, Al-Baraa Adel Al-Ahmadi from Al-Laith and Abdul Bari Al-Hossani bagged first prizes in the secondary school and intermediate school categories respectively. Among the girls, Najad Abdul Rahim Asheikh from Khulais (secondary school) and Rahaf Al-Joaid from Makkah (intermediate school) won first prizes.

Saeed Al-Mabouth, senior educational supervisor and head of the judging committee, told Arab News the forum is a great initiative by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal in nurturing youths’ abilities and investing in their energies, talents and achievements in various fields. “We saw young men and women participants who came from nearby and remote regions of the Makkah province. The forum is an exemplary model that could be embraced by other provinces in the Kingdom,” he said.

Saeed Al-Maliki, supervisor of the solo performance competition, said the forum translates Prince Khaled Al-Faisal’s vision about the youth into action. “The governor is keen to improve the talent of the youth in the province and is striving to offer the best programs for them with the objective of developing their capabilities and investing them in the service of the nation,” he said.

Al-Maliki noted the forum, which is a meeting place of talented teens from various parts of the province, is instrumental in discovering the talent of youngsters and developing it in cultural, educational and sports fields. “The event also gives an opportunity to establish rapport among the participants, their teachers and supervisors,” he said.

Several contestants, including Omar Al-Odwani from Taif, Ali Al-Salabi and Abdullah bin Jassem from Qunfuda, and Muhammad Kanani from Al-Laith, praised the forum saying it gave them a unique opportunity to discover their talent and develop them.