HE Dr. Saud Al-Mathami, Secretary-General of the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity "Mawhiba", and HE Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director General of the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science "ALECSO", inaugurated in the presence of the President of the Executive Council of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization "ALECSO", Mr. Hani bin Moqbel Al-Muqbi, the "Arab Gifted" initiative at the level of the Arab world, at a press conference held today at the headquarters of the "Mawhiba" Foundation in Riyadh.
Dr. Al-Mathami, Secretary General of Mawhiba, said: “The Arab Gifted is an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Arab world, in the approach of discovering and nurturing the talented, to confirm the Kingdom’s keenness under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz - may God preserve them - for activating the Kingdom's foundational role in the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science "ALECSO", in line with the roles of member states and contributing to the achievement of the organization's goals.
Dr. Al-Mathami thanked His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, Chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science and Minister of Culture, for sponsoring the signing of the Arab Gifted Agreement and his efforts to support initiatives and partnerships with national authorities in the approaches of education, culture and science and with regional and international organizations, in order to cultivate more emerging Arab talents, which will contribute to achieving sustainable development 2030 to raise competencies and energies in the Arab world, and it is the first initiative of its kind to discover and nurture talented people in the Arab world.
HE the Secretary-General of Mawhiba stated that an invitation has been sent to all Arab countries that are members of the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science to nominate their students according to the specific mechanism, and 13 Arab countries have participated so far, namely, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Iraq, the Republic of Tunisia, the State of Libya, the State of Palestine, the Republic of Yemen, the Republic of Sudan, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
In turn, HE the Director General of ALECSO, Mr. Mohamed Ould Amar, extended his sincere thanks to the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture, Chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, for his interest, support and sponsorship of this initiative. He said: "The discovery of talented Arabs and the development of their capabilities reflects interest in the scientific, social and cultural challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as culture is an essential element of drawing Arab identity, and because the issue of promoting Arab culture is of great social and economic importance, which is a necessary pillar to ensure a better future. For the emerging Arab generations in light of global trends to achieve sustainable development, according to a perspective that is consistent with the culture, heritage and cultural heritage of the Arab peoples and does not conflict with their beliefs.
It is noteworthy that "Mawhiba" and "ALECSO" are linked to a long history of partnership and cooperation, which began with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2008 to prepare the "Arab Strategy for Giftedness and Creativity in Public Education", in execution of the recommendations of the Sixth Conference of Arab Ministers of Education hosted by the Saudi capital, Riyadh in 2008.
