RIYADH: A call to “sustain an open and honest dialogue” between the young peoples of the Kingdom and Britain was made by the second Saudi-British Youth Forum, which concluded its weeklong proactive deliberations here yesterday.
The forum, as part of its recommendations, called on the Saudi and British governments to support youth projects that would go a long way toward promoting intercultural dialogue and youth participation.
British Ambassador William Patey, while addressing the final session of the forum, said this was an important event promoting greater understanding between young men and women from the UK and Saudi Arabia.
“It is good to see more young Britons coming to Saudi Arabia because Saudis know a lot about the UK, whereas Britons have relatively poor knowledge about the social and cultural life in the Kingdom,” Patey said.
The forum’s concluding session was attended by a large number of Saudi and British officials. Prominent among those present were Omar A. Bahlaiwa, secretary-general of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Fahad S. Al-Sultan of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue; Mohanna Aba Al-Khail from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Saudi columnist Samar Fatany, who is an active member of the Committee for International Trade (CIT), a trade body affiliated with the Council of Saudi Chambers.
Also present were Jon Gore, the director of the British Council’s Central Region office in Saudi Arabia; and Nick Heath, the British Embassy’s press and political officer. All 48 young participants from Saudi Arabia and Britain were present.
In his address to the young participants on the premises of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, the British ambassador said the forum could be rightly said to be part of the broader inter-cultural dialogue initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
On the cultural and educational fronts, Patey said, the two countries have signed a number of agreements recently, especially during the recent visit of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. “We have a good exchange program on sports also,” Patey said.
“Besides, there are a number of ongoing initiatives between the two countries,” said the diplomat, adding that the British position is very clear and identical with Saudi position on a range of regional and international issues.
Bahlaiwa said the forum was creating understanding, solidarity and friendship between the new generations of future leaders, decision-makers and planners.
Speaking on her part, Fatany said, “Some pilot projects have been identified by the forum in which youths of both countries will participate. The participants will present their projects after evaluation for funding and implementation.”
The forum, she added, “was 100 percent successful, and it sought to promote understanding, commonalities and trust, while celebrating and shedding away differences.”
Fatany said the forum’s participants successfully endeavored to discover common values and objectives, which eventually came up in the form of joint projects. This, she said, would help to reinforce the participation of youths in future dialogues of cultures to be organized by Saudi Arabia and the UK.
Pioneer projects, to be taken up for funding and implementation, will be appropriate, well designed and easy to monitor, said the participants.
Asked about the participants’ experiences, British student Niamh Quille, who works as volunteer for the nongovernmental organization Minorities of Europe, said, “On the surface we see different people, but we realized during the course of the forum that we share same thoughts and values.”
Quille said the forum acquired a life of its own, gathering momentum with time and achieving the sought results.
“The objectives of our partnership must not be viewed from a point of view of a corporate framework, where bottom-line results are expected almost immediately,” said the British student.
Another participant, Niccolo Milanese, director of European Alternatives, said a great deal of trust has been built between young Saudi and British participants.
Referring to the dialogue, Saleh A. Bogary, a Saudi volunteer, said the forum allowed participants to share best practices, experiences and thoughts. “A majority of the Saudi population is young and hence their participation in such forums are very important for us,” said Bogary.
