RIYADH, 8 June 2008 — The British Council announced recently that it would initiate a program to teach students to conserve water.
“We want to collaborate with schools in the Kingdom in cooperation with the British Council offices in the region to highlight the importance water which is a valuable commodity in the Kingdom,” said Marcus Gilbert, the new director of the British Council in Western Saudi Arabia, adding that water is a scarce resource and people do not realize its value.
“The Kingdom spends a lot of money in providing potable water though its desalination programs and even waste water is being treated for irrigation purposes here,” he said.
Gilbert said that he hopes to flag off the program during fall. The program initially targets youths and school students who would be conveying the message to their parents and elders about the value of water.
He said that the program would be launched with a photo exhibition to highlight the importance of water for sustaining life. The event will give an opportunity for Saudi as well as international photographers to take part in an event that would help the environment.
Gilbert, who assumed duties in Jeddah in May, was previously serving in the Kingdom as British Council’s deputy director from 2001 to 2005, based in Riyadh. Before coming to Jeddah, he was working in London developing the British Council’s work on climate change.
The new director further said that his primary aim is to strengthen the cultural bridge between the two countries. He has plans to promote exchange of visits by artists from the two countries, which would help both Britons and Saudis to understand each other well. Besides its English Language teaching program.
