DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company, has announced its support for the third year for the DHL Connecting Cultures Expedition in Oman, due to commence on February 7th.
The expedition will see a team of some 18 young girls from 10 nations, including UAE, Oman, Jordan, and Qatar, along with two girls from Saudi Arabia, who are enthusiastic to portray and share the advancement of Saudi women over the past decades. The journey will be held for five days in the Al Sharqiya desert in northeastern Oman, using camels for support.
Mark Benton, DHL Express Country Manager said: “As the leading express and logistics provider for the wider Middle East region, it gives us great pleasure to once again extend our support to this programme which has only grown in its mission and reach. To be the title partner for this incredible educational initiative, which this year includes the first expedition for girls, is a tremendous opportunity which ties in very well with the DHL mission of providing innovative solutions in the most challenging environments”.
Support of the expedition follows DHL’s successful involvement as lead partner of the 2005 first ever Connecting Cultures expedition to the Arctic, and the 2007 DHL Connecting Cultures Desert Crossing expedition which saw 15 young boys from six nations (Jordan, Oman, UK, Saudi Arabia, Fiji and Pakistan) spend 5 days together in the desert sands of Oman.
Mark Evans, founder of Connecting Cultures and teacher at the British School Muscat, commented: “Connecting Cultures has proven to be an important building block towards creating understanding among young people from different backgrounds, especially in a world where cultures seem to be increasingly polarised. By spending time in such places as the Sharqiya Sands, young people can focus on intercultural issues in an environment where there are few distractions, and in a country which is a shining example to others of how people can live with respect for each other.”
Dr. Madiha Al Sheibania, Secretary General, Oman National Commission for Education, Culture and Science said,” The Omani National Commission for Education Culture and Science promotes activities that enhance the channel of communication among cultures. Stemming from this commitment the Omani National Commission has successfully supported the connecting Culture expedition 2007, in which 3 Omani students from the UNESCO Associated schools in the Sultanate participated together with 12 young people from six Arab and foreign countries. The Commission also sponsored the production of a documentary film which captured the experiences during the days of the connecting cultures 2007 expedition. This accomplishment was shared and presented in some international conferences such as the General Conference of UNESCO and the Arab - European Dialogue and Youth Conference. We have received excellent feedback about the expedition by the most important global organizations such as UNESCO and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).
Due to the commendable accomplishments of the connecting cultures expedition 2007, and based on the belief of the Omani National Commission of the importance of supporting such initiatives, the Omani National Commission is proud, to be a significant partner of the connecting cultures through working with national commissions in some Arab countries as well as the UNESCO regional offices in order to coordinate and organize the two connecting cultures expeditions 2008,”.
Launched in 2004 in London, by HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, and founder Mark Evans, Connecting Cultures aims to promote intercultural dialogue between young people from the Western and Arab world, to create positive young role models for society, and to give young people key life skills to successfully enter the world of work. Their discussions focus on the cultural diversity they represent, to identify the core values that they have in common; and to identify their roles and responsibilities as future stakeholders in society.
Once assembled in Oman, the initial activities will revolve around getting to know each other. Each day the young people will be paired up with someone of a different nationality, and each pair will then share a camel throughout each day of their journey, identifying what they have in
common as they walk and talk. Findings will be shared, and focused discussions as a group will take place at lunchtimes and around the fire in the evenings. In the middle of each day, the group will take a break to work in two teams tackling increasingly difficult problems. A team of professional facilitators will accompany them on their journey.
2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, and the young people in the team have been selected from a number of European and Arab states. EU Ambassador in Riyadh, His Excellency Bernard Savage stated that the relationship between the EU and the GCC is based on strong economic links and a shared interest in regional peace and stability. The European Union believes in connecting youth of different cultures and backgrounds, in order to increase intercultural dialogue and to promote better understanding between peoples.
The other sponsor for the expedition is MHD Land Rover, who will continue to provide the 4x4 support vehicle that will track the progress of the participants during the journey.
