JEDDAH, 18 August 2006 — A group of 10 students — five from the Dar Al-Fikr Girls School in Jeddah and five from the Kingdom School for boys in Riyadh — have recently returned from an international students program held in Singapore.
It was the first time that Saudi schoolgirls had participated in an international program, said Maryam Sani, who was the supervisor of the five girls who took part in the program.
Sani said that the trip was an excellent educational experience for the students, adding that one student told her that having participated in the summit has built her confidence and increased her will to do more.
The two-week program entitled “Asian Young Leaders Summit” was organized and hosted by Hwa Chong Institute in Singapore from July 17 to 28.
Sani said the program was packed with activities, adding that 80 students between the age of 16 and 18 from China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Singapore had participated in the event.
In dialogues held at the event, students were able to actively engage in serious discussions with senior civil servants and were able to visit local and private firms. Sani said that the students were also given opportunities to interact and understand how things work at a professional level.
Aya Albakree, a participating student from the Dar Al-Fikr Girls School, said, “The best thing about the program was that we were given an opportunity to forward our voice.”
“When you suggest or say something people listen to you and add on to your ideas. This is something that young leaders are able to do,” she added.
Fawaz Badr Al-Shora, a participating student from the Kingdom School, said that Europe and the United States currently have a very good working relationship and that Asia on the other hand is like a desert made up of a few loose grains of sand.
“If all the Asian countries come together, we will become the strongest continent in the world,” he said.
Al-Shora added, “I hope that such face-to-face communication would change the stereotypes some people have about Saudi Arabians especially with regards to associating them with terrorists.”
Another student that participated was Sarah Masri from the Dar Al-Fikr Girls School.
She said that she was able to attend an informative lecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS) about future career choices.
“I found it very interesting. It helped me a lot because I’m graduating next year,” she said.
Abdulrahman Al-Ghubain, from the Kingdom School, said, “I think that this has been the best summer of my life.”
Sani said that participants from different countries were able to foster friendships with each other.
“This preparation of exceptional student leaders would help the region gain greater heights in the global scene in the future,” she said.
She also added that a cultural exhibition was prepared by students of each country during the final day to highlight the culture and arts of participating countries.
She added that the Saudi students had brought with them a number of books, brochures and DVDs about the Kingdom in an individual effort to spread knowledge about Saudi Arabia to their international friends.
