Jordan Times
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Youth share concerns with King
By Mohammad Ghazal
PETRA — His Majesty King Abdullah met on Wednesday with a group of young people
taking part in the Nobel laureates conference, who shared with him their
thoughts on the problems they face, especially in the field of education.
“We spoke freely with the King. Our meeting with him provided us with motivation
and hope as King Abdullah is keen on highlighting the role of the youth,” said
Loujain Munir Sheikh, a member of the We are All Jordan Youth Commission.
“We shared our concerns about education and called for more practical education
rather than purely theoretical,” Sheikh added.
The King told the participants, who represented Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon,
Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and Israel that the region’s leaders should
focus on issues affecting youth as they constitute 50 per cent of the
population.
The Monarch commended their participation in the conference, and assured them
that their future would be bright due to the many initiatives launched in the
region to empower them, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
King Abdullah also commended a proposal by the young participants to create a
fund for educational scholarships, whereby students from the region would have
the chance to enrol in courses outside their countries.
“Our participation in the Nobel laureates’ conference was a great thing. I
personally benefitted a lot from attending as I listened to the experiences of
the most brilliant people in the world. It is a great opportunity to learn from
those Nobel laureates on how to think and do things better,” Sheikh told The
Jordan Times.
Mazen Zoabi, an Arab Israeli, echoed her remarks.
“Our meeting with the King was very comfortable. We briefed him about our future
visions and aspirations for the region and the problems we face. The King
greatly appreciates the role of the youth and this is very important to
encourage and motivate us,” said Zoabi.
He added that the young participants at the conference had agreed to create an
online club, where they can communicate and organise future activities and
gatherings.
This is the third consecutive year that Jordan has hosted the two-day
conference. This year’s theme was “Petra III: Building a Better World.”