JEDDAH, 16 October 2004 — Young male and female Saudis who took part in workshops held across the country recently have called for a review of the Kingdom’s academic curricula to match its requirements and modern developments and for creating more job opportunities for youth.
Some 600 youths including secondary and university students took part in the workshops, which were held ahead of the fourth national dialogue on youth issues to be held in Dammam next month.
Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, vice president of the King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center, said some of the recommendations made by youths at the workshops were impractical. He said some youths asked the state to provide them with government jobs. “This is a difficult matter. What our youths should do is to get trained in specializations required by the job market,” Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted him as saying.
“Some proposals have come in the form of advice while others demanded changes to existing regulations,” he pointed out. A committee has been set up at the crown prince’s court to follow up implementation of the recommendations. The workshop held in Riyadh called for enlightening youths on the Kingdom’s basic regulations such as the Basic System of Governance, the Regional Council system and the Shoura Council system.
Other recommendations include formation of a society to encourage young writers, taking care of the talented and people with special needs, monthly stipends to unemployed graduates, steps to upgrade skills of teachers and providing cooperative training facilities at schools and colleges.
Addressing the Riyadh workshop, Saleh Al-Hosayn, president of the dialogue center, said the Al-Qaeda militants blamed for a series of terrorist attacks in the Kingdom were supported by foreign parties who wanted to undermine the Kingdom and cause chaos and confusion in the country.
Some 25 young women took part in a workshop held in Madinah. Taiba Al-Idrissi, coordinator of the workshop, said girls capable of holding discussions were selected for the event. She said some parents refused to allow their daughters to take part in the dialogue.
Khadeeja Aadham, a participant, said the Madinah dialogue was more theoretical. “We don’t expect quick solutions. We want freedom of expression. It is high time that everybody expressed his/her views without any fear of punishment,” Al-Watan quoted her as saying.
