RIYADH, 16 September 2005 — Six Saudi students, who recently returned from a 15-day expedition to the Arctic island of Svalbard, were greeted at a reception in Riyadh on Wednesday. The trip was part of a project — supported by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the new Saudi ambassador to the US and the Kingdom’s leading express and logistics provider SNAS/DHL — to promote cultural understanding between Riyadh and London.
The expedition to the island, some 500 miles from the North Pole, was sponsored by SNAS/DHL and organized by “Collecting Cultures International.”
The expedition aimed to bring together young people from Saudi Arabia and Great Britain on challenging wilderness ventures. “Four British students were in the expedition that left July this year,” said David A. Wilson, country manager of SNAS/DHL.
“This reception marks the successful outcome of the expedition project,” said Wilson adding that “We are proud to be involved in this initiative, which draws close the ties between the two great nations.”
“Prince Turki’s role has been crucial to the success of the project and has confirmed his belief that the way forward lies in raising the level of cultural awareness between the young people of different nations,” said Wilson.
The expedition team included Abdullah Shalhoub, Mohammed Saud Al-Saleh, Mohammed M. Yahya Al-Rajhi, Sultan Al-Qahtani, Saud Hamad Al-Sagri and Bander Al-Shamekh from the Kingdom School and King Faisal School.
The students first flew to London to meet the British students and then traveled to Oslo before taking flights further to Svalbard. They then took a boat into the Artic wilderness, where they lived in log cabins and tents, but later they built shelters by using driftwood.
Their final challenge was to climb a mountain and the students did it. Abdullah Shalhoub, an expedition team member, said that the Saudi students hoisted a national flag and the British team unfurled its own flag on the mountain peaks. “It was indeed a very proud moment,” said Shalhoub.
“The expedition taught students key life skills such as teamwork, communication and trust, which will certainly help them to become great leaders of tomorrow,” SNAS/DHL National Marketing Manager Paul Chader said. Chader said SNAS/DHL was always committed to promoting social and charitable causes.
He said his company had also extended a helping hand to the Disabled Children Association, which seeks to integrate disabled children into the mainstream of society under the leadership of Prince Sultan Ibn Salman.
He also spoke about an ongoing blood donation campaign launched by the SNAS/DHL in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. Chader said SNAS/DHL had an important role to play in fulfilling its obligations as the leading express and logistics company of the Kingdom.
SNAS/DHL is the global market leader in the international express and logistics industry with a substantial presence in Saudi Arabia.
