Summer school aims to inspire understanding
Pupils from Saudi Arabia are visiting Edinburgh for a scheme that aims to increase understanding between people from different cultures.
The group of 100 high school students will be take part in a three-week programme in July, which includes English language classes and a range of activities with University students.
Programme highlights include a treasure hunt at the National Museum of Scotland, a football match against a local Edinburgh team and a trip to the Junior Highland Games.
Enhancing awareness
Members of the local community will also take part in the programme.
Arabic language workshops have been planned, as well as an Ask a Saudi initiative that is designed to foster understanding between people from the East and West.
We are very pleased to be supporting this venture to help the next generation of Saudi students develop their inter-cultural understanding of the contemporary world. Edinburgh is a truly global University, firmly rooted in Scotland, and we are dedicated to enhancing our international links. This three-week programme, with its range of inventive and enjoyable activities, promises to be a valuable way to increase understanding between young people from different backgrounds and cultures.
Innovative exchange
The summer programme has been sponsored by Alwaleed Philanthropies, chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud.
The visiting students are from the Ambassadors of Peaceful Dialogue Programme – a venture that helps increase Saudi high school students’ awareness of other cultures and faiths.
The University’s Alwaleed Centre is hosting the students and facilitates the programme in partnership with King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue in Saudi Arabia.
Edinburgh is home to one of the six Prince Alwaleed academic centres across the globe. The centres aim to encourage a better understanding of Islam and Islamic Culture through ground-breaking research and pioneering outreach projects.
This innovative exchange brings together two central pillars of Alwaleed Philanthropies’ work: empowering young people, and fostering increased awareness and understanding between those from different nations and cultures. We want to bring together young Saudis and Scots to help break down these barriers and teach them that, despite their differences, they have much more in common than that which divides them.