JEDDAH, 3 March 2006 — The first four Saudi women graduates from Jeddah’s Future Center for Ladies, an accredited affiliate of the Inchbald School of Design in London, celebrated their graduation.
FCL Director Rajaa Moumena handed Design & Decoration diplomas to Hind Al-Shaer, Mada Habhab, Maha Binladin and Seba Al-Isai.
“Today the Future Center for Ladies has surely achieved the first milestone after a long march,” she said, describing the efforts the Saudi school has made since 1997 to form a relationship with the London school backed by the British Accreditation Council.
Carma Elliot, consul general of the British Consulate in Jeddah, attended the ceremony and congratulated the four graduates.
“British institutions are anxious to retain their reputations,” Elliot told Arab News. “So the fact that (Inchbald’s founder) Jacqueline Duncan had — after over ten years — affiliated with the Future Center marked the progress and achievement of the school.”
Habhab said she is currently utilizing her diploma and skills as a freelancer but aims to start her own business.
“I’m planning to start my own wedding planning office,” said Habhab who was attracted to the commercial interior designing. “During our study in the center, I worked as a project manager in a private establishment for interior designing.”
Maha Binladin aims to start an office especially for female interior designers. “I found our level in interior designing exceeds interior designing students in other colleges here in Jeddah,” she said. “We worked in a practical environment which added a lot to our skills.”
