This was the first visit of the students — from different universities across the US — to Saudi Arabia.
The tour was organized by the National Council on US-Arab Relations. The students were given a presentation about the operations of Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation. They watched a documentary about Saudi Arabia entitled “Seeing Through the Sand.”  They also attended a question-and-answer session with the film’s director, Noor Al-Dabbagh. The students were pleased to meet with the foundation team and learn about Saudi culture. The visit was hosted by the Ministry of Higher Education and headed by Randa Hudome and Elizabeth Wusson, two board members of the NCUSAR.
The NCUSAR is an American nonprofit educational organization dedicated to improving American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world through leadership development and people-to-people programs, academic seminars and an annual Arab-US policymakers’ conference.
Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation had previously granted NCUSAR general support of $300,000 over three years (2006-2009) to develop various educational programs that promote American understanding of the Arab world.
Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation supports programs and educational centers around the world that reframe perceptions of Islam and the West, in order to foster dialogue and better understanding between the different faiths and world views. It also works internationally to tackle poverty,  delivers rapid aid in cases of natural disasters and provides women and youth in the MENA region with economic and educational opportunities through  supporting sustainable projects of the Foundation’s various partner organizations.