JEDDAH, 14 January 2008 — Winners of the Climate Awards competition were honored at a ceremony in the British Council offices in Jeddah on Saturday. British Consul General Kate Rudd presented prizes to the winners of three categories in the competition: Best photograph, best original artwork and best logo. The competition was held as part of the British Council’s wider brief to raise the profile of issues of mutual or international concern with citizens of countries where the council is represented.
“I was really very heartened to see that so many people in Saudi Arabia were aware of climate change and were thinking about the consequences,” said Rudd during the ceremony. “Not enough people in the Kingdom do know about climate change however and it is very encouraging when children understand the issues — for in this sense they are our teachers.”
Rudd referred to the recent Bali conference on climate change and made a suggestion to the winners. “Don’t stop thinking about it; it’s not going away!”
Michael Gordon, director of the British Council in Jeddah said that the competition had been a valuable exercise in raising the profile of climate change. Commenting on the competition he noted that the council’s involvement in climate change might have seemed unusual. The British Council is better known for its English language training and the promotion of cultural relations. “We build cultural relations by making friends and sharing matters of mutual interest,” he explained. “Climate change used to be the province of environmentalists and a few people - but now it is everybody’s concern.” He thanked SABB (Saudi British Bank) for its sponsorship of the event the Saudi National Society for the Environment. “With their help we were able to take the project into schools.”
The winner in the category “Original Artwork For The Over 12” was Nabeeh Al-Daher with Rozana Al-Odai taking the runner’s up prize. The slogan competition was won by Reem Al-Rafi with “If you care, be aware” with Moustafa Fatani taking second. In the open photography competition, Mofeed Awwami won first place, Mohammed Al-Dwaihi second and Fatima Edassani third.
At the same event, young Saudi writers were recognized and received awards for their contribution to a collection of short stories and poems on the topic of personal identity and belonging to society. Selected participants attended a five-day workshop with two published UK writers and a journalist in order to hone their skills and the subsequent work was published in a book entitled “I Belong.” “Short story writing is something close to my heart as part of my studies was English literature and I have entered competitions myself,” said Rudd as she presented the awards. “I feel it is vitally important to be aware of your identity and feelings and to be able to tell and communicate your story through the literature of your country.”
Winners in the literature event were Ali Al-Majnooni and Somaya Al-Ahmadi with Nafla Al-Harthi, Ali Al-Faisal, Amani Fairak, Haifa Al-Khatabi, Turki Bakitian and Dalia Bakheet, all of whom were included in the book, “I Belong.”
