RIYADH: A crystal-studded art installation and a special water feature are some of the attractions awaiting visitors at the Kingdom’s Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion, which has closed for construction and is ready for the global event.
Construction on the Saudi pavilion began last year in February and the building is second in size to that of host nation the UAE.
It is six stories high, and features 650 solar panels that have been sourced from Saudi entrepreneurs and manufactured in the Kingdom.
Expo 2020 Dubai is set to take place next October.
RIYADH: Saudi Customs destroyed more than 2 million counterfeit goods seized in cooperation with partners in the intellectual property protection field.
Destruction of illegal goods is part of the duty assigned to Saudi Customs in taking necessary actions against violators of the intellectual property.
Saudi Customs said that the destruction took place in cooperation with a specialized company to preserve the environment. Destroyed products included shoes, clothes, mobile accessories, health kits and car filters branded with fake labels of recognized companies.
JEDDAH: Foundations are being laid to increase levels of awareness and responsibility among Saudi children about caring for the planet and nurturing the environment.
Achieving environmental sustainability is one of the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan’s key goals.
Many environmental awareness groups are emerging in the Kingdom, and there are also books that teach the younger generation how to use resources wisely in the future.
Raising awareness starts from a young age, however, as children are inheriting a planet that is not fighting fit.
Former early childhood educator Nourah Feteih wrote a children’s book called “Adam and The Giant.”
She spoke about her story, why she chose the topics of pollution and global warming, and presenting these issues for Saudi children.
The book, which was inspired by her son Abduljalil, was published five years ago and aims to teach children from a very young age how they can be productive members of society by caring about Earth and how to keep it clean and safe.
“He always liked to help from an early age,” she told Arab News. “He was interested in everything with regards to the environment. Whenever he saw smoke rising from car exhausts or litter anywhere in the streets, he used to make it a point that he does not like pollution and wants it to stop.”
Feteih started educating her son from home and helped instill in him the importance of preserving the environment.
“I thought what if other kids at a young age would learn about this and become productive members of society and grow with this wonderful value, to actually make a great difference for your environment and your planet.”
Philanthropy is a cause very close to Feteih’s heart, and publishing “Adam and The Giant” was a way to give back to her community. She stressed that it was important to teach children about the environment at a young age, and highlighted how they loved to help out and feel included.
“I strongly believe that it’s in children’s nature to help in any way they can, and (they) have the drive of curiosity and learning innately. So, teaching them the value of caring about their environment and teaching them how it affects the planet they live on is a significant added value that they will grow up learning and will carry with them as adults.”
Saudi Arabia has made a number of efforts to protect its environment and resources, while also promoting environmental awareness through various initiatives.
Community groups have been actively engaging with the public and focusing their activities to include families and children.
Environmental awareness groups such as Hejaz Ploggers — jogging while picking up litter — have caught the attention of Saudi youth for their combination of sports and an environmental cause.
There is also a rising number of sustainability solution providers in Saudi Arabia such as Naqaa Sustainability Solutions, which is one of the Kingdom’s first social enterprises.
It was established in 2011 and has been providing waste management programs and community engagement initiatives as well as other services. Some of the activities include collecting waste, talking about environmental problems, separating waste in malls and children’s play areas, and also visiting farms and garden centers.
These two groups are among those that have taken the initiative to play a helping hand in advising children and families alike about the importance of keeping the environment clean, preserving it and ensuring that solutions can one day replace problems.
RIYADH: As sports and other activities continue to gain popularity in Saudi Arabia, residents are seeking out exciting ways to get moving.
The Kingdom’s female population are enjoying the new wave of opportunities that have been made available to them in recent years to live a healthy lifestyle.
Hiking, outdoor yoga and football are all popular choices, but one less familiar pastime on the increase is cycling.
Events such as the annual Saudi Tour and the General Sports Authority’s highly successful all-women’s cycling race in Jeddah in 2018 have fostered a growing interest in the sport.
Studies have shown that cycling improves overall health, more specifically improving mental health, strengthening the immune system, promoting weight loss, reducing heart disease and cancer and more.
Riding a bike can be one of the easiest forms of returning to fitness when you are bouncing back from an injury or illness.
A group of bike enthusiasts from Riyadh intend to spread the word and make people more aware of the healthy advantages of cycling and the joy that can be had on the back of a bicycle.
Doves Ride is Saudi Arabia’s first professional cycling team, licensed both locally and internationally. Shahd Alturki, Doves Ride’s founder and a professional cycling trainer, spoke to Arab News about why she set up the team.
• A group of bike enthusiasts from Riyadh intend to spread the word and make people more aware of the healthy advantages of cycling and the joy that can be had on the back of a bicycle.
• Doves Ride is Saudi Arabia’s first professional cycling team, licensed both locally and internationally.
• Riding a bike can be one of the easiest forms of returning to fitness when you are bouncing back from an injury or illness.
“I founded Doves Ride to create an environment for women and families where they could get into sports,” Alturki said.
Based in Riyadh, Doves Ride’s goal is to create an environment where Saudis can discover what biking is like and meet others with similar interests.
“The idea was to create a team that would motivate Saudi society to start biking, and to raise awareness in general about sport and movement. We also wanted to help teach Saudis to cycle by creating a program to teach people in all categories,” she said.
Doves Ride organizes rides for all levels, from the gentle trails suitable for beginners to the more challenging routes for hardened cyclists.
“We welcome participants at any level, whether they are looking for a long-term membership or just to try it out,” said Alturki.
She also spoke about the benefits of the sport and hopes to encourage people to try it out for themselves.
“Biking is more than just a fun sport; it raises your fitness levels and can also boost your mental health,” she said.
For the more hesitant, Alturki reassures them that she is well-equipped to train them and get them on the path to biking like a pro.
“We have bike-riding lessons for zero-experience learners, licensed by the British Cycling Federation. Children, men and women are all welcome to take them. These lessons can help any beginner ride a bike safely, and teaches them all the necessary skills and basics,” she said.
Doves Ride can be contacted via their Twitter or Instagram accounts, @dovesride.
MAKKAH: Saudi society has been torn between the pros and cons of remote learning, which has laid the foundations of a new technological era.
“Remote learning is one of the greatest opportunities,” noted education expert, Abeer Hassan, the director of the innovation club at King Saud University.
“Analysis of the educational developments currently taking place around the Arab world … within the scope of remote working are the most significant evidence of (its) success, through the adoption of its models and the exchange of skills,” she added.
“Although we have been greatly successful, there are still some shortcomings such as the high financial costs, some communities not accepting this type of education, and some people refusing to replace teachers with television,” Hassan added.
“Awareness raising and highlighting the pioneering role of remote learning are of great importance. The first signs of its success are found in the continuous dynamic developments we are witnessing in the remote learning system,” she pointed out.
Nasser Bukhari, a parent, said that “remote learning burdened the families that now have to monitor their children throughout the year. Many families are now suffering due to the negative repercussions of students using tablets and mobile phones for long hours.
“This issue has affected their ability to focus,” he added, noting that “what characterized remote learning is that it helped families learn about technology and applications, shortened distances and vanquished the pandemic that took over the world.
“Remote learning helped preserve the health of Saudi Arabia’s citizens and residents. It was a courageous decision … that was lauded by all the beneficiaries, who clearly contributed to the harnessing of this technology, which might still be used even after the pandemic ends,” Bukhari added.
Waleed Shanaq, a student at Makkah’s Ali bin Abi Taleb High School, stressed that “remote learning was a wonderful idea, through which students were able to interact and complete their assignments since day one. This is a great platform that has diversified the means of learning.
“Remote learning is not a good decision when it come to all the subjects, as mathematics, physics and chemistry require an attendance in person. As for the other subjects, it would be a good idea to keep providing them remotely even after the pandemic ends,” he added.
“One of the problems facing remote learning is the indifferent students that are hard to monitor. This technology requires a quality of students who are aware of this technological and educational change, which demands an educational and moral commitment,” Shanaq said.
Qutaiba bin Hamoud Al-Saadoun is the director of the forestry and afforestation department at the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA), where he also provides consultancy services.
In an interview with Al-Ekhbariya TV channel, he said that the MEWA was planning to replace imported trees with local ones. His comments came as the ministry on Saturday launched its Let’s Make it Green campaign which aims to plant 10 million trees throughout the Kingdom by the end of April.
He pointed out that planting trees not only had health, environmental, and aesthetic benefits for people but also helped to reduce the effects of desertification, develop natural habitats, and improve quality of life.
Al-Saadoun gained a bachelor’s degree in plant and environmental sciences from King Saud University’s college of sciences in 1985 and five years later a master’s degree in fungi environment of wild medicinal plants from the same university.
In 1986, he joined the Saudi Wildlife Authority where he gained extensive experience in planning and environmental sciences over a period of more than three decades. He held several positions with the authority including as director of its reserved areas planning department, and director of studies and research.
The adviser, who was the first Saudi to obtain a certificate in reserved area management, has also worked in the fields of environmental strategies, planning, and management of nature reserves and parks.
During his career, Al-Saadoun has taken part in scientific studies, and the conservation of biodiversity in Saudi deserts, coastal plains, mountains, coasts, and islands. He is often invited by media channels to comment on MEWA initiatives to conserve agricultural resources and combat desertification.
Over 30 years, he has gained wide supervision skills through his role as an environmental overseer of licenses requested by mining, exploration, and development project applicants and he has been responsible for socio-economic studies and environmental assessment of sites.
Al-Saadoun, an internationally certified environmental planner, represented Saudi Arabia at the international Convention on Biological Diversity. He is a member of a range of global and local organizations and has founded a number of national bodies to help control unfair logging.
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia will be a global artificial intelligence (AI) leader by 2030, a prominent Saudi expert has said.
Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, president of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), made the comments during a media briefing on shaping new frontiers at the International Media Center in Riyadh ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Last year, the authority developed the Estishraf Platform, an AI-based platform that utilizes data to create diversified insights and respond to the top priorities of decision-makers in Saudi Arabia.
“Through this platform we were able to earn revenues amounting to SR43 billion ($11.5 billion), only in 2019,” said Al-Ghamdi. “Undoubtedly, this is an excellent indicator for the great opportunities the national economy is waiting for after AI has become a knowledge-based economy.”
The SDAIA chief said the authority launched the NSDAI during the Global AI Summit, organized by the SDAIA and the G20 Saudi Secretariat as part of the international conferences program two weeks ago.
“We have finalized all logistic and procedures to set up the SDAIA Artificial Intelligence Company, which will be the national AI investment arm for the country,” he said.
In his speech, Al-Ghamdi, who is also chairman of the Global AI Summit, shed light on digital economy topics and the role of technology, especially AI-related tech, and its role in surviving the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. He also focused on shaping the future into a “new normal” situation.
“As much as we are proud of our ability to overcome these challenges, despite all these circumstances we also recognize the criticality of delivering together all three themes of the Saudi G20 presidency to realize the opportunities of the 21st century —empowering people, safeguarding the planet and shaping a new frontier,” he said.
“As we recover from the pandemic, there is an opportunity to unlock the potential of scientific advancements and utilize technologies to set the foundations for a brighter and sustainable future for us, our children and the generations to come.”
He said that digital technology is playing a central role in shaping today and tomorrow, and it continues to gain new grounds in people’s lives, work, education and more.
“While there is a lot of potential from emerging technologies such as AI, there is also a growing digital gap, which, if not addressed collectively, will further widen and lead to unfair distribution of the benefits and wealth that nations will be able to generate out of these technologies,” said Al-Ghamdi.
In recognition of these risks, Saudi Arabia has led fruitful G20 dialogues on critical topics that will shape digital economies and the future, including trustworthy AI, data free flow, smart cities and digital economy security and measurement.
Al-Ghamdi said that Saudi Arabia’s unique national digital and data capabilities were vital in enabling the country to fight and reduce the effects of the pandemic, while continuing to advance the national agenda towards the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The SDAIA president warned that, while AI can cause the disappearance of jobs, new AI-based job opportunities will flourish.
“As per the 2030 targets, we are going to train 40 percent of the relevant workforce in data and AI. We will also have over 20,000 AI and data specialists by the year 2030. Moreover, we are creating up to 40,000 direct and indirect jobs related to data and artificial intelligence,” he said.
RIYADH: New Zealand Ambassador James Monroe recently visited the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, known as Etidal.
Praising the work of the center, the envoy said Etidal’s efforts are advanced and critical in its line of work.
Monroe has completed his term as the ambassador to the Kingdom.
“Your work is vitally and globally important. It has been a pleasure to see the progress you have achieved while maintaining your exacting standards and dedication to your methodology. I wish the center and all your staff the very best,” he said.
The secretary-general of the center, Dr. Mansour Al-Shammari, praised the role of New Zealand in promoting values of coexistence and combating hate speech.
The center was established on three basic pillars: Confronting extremism by the latest intellectual, media, and numerical methods and means.
The center uses different methods to counter extremist ideology such as software capable of monitoring, classifying, and analyzing any extremist content within just 6 seconds of its online broadcast and with more than 80 percent accuracy. It has a team of multidisciplinary researchers competent in using data analytical tools.
It operates in the extremists’ most widely used languages and dialects. Advanced analytical models are being developed to locate digital media platforms, highlight the extremist focal point, and secret sources of polarization and acquiring activities.
The center works to refute hate and extremist speech and promote concepts of moderation through the production of media content that confronts radical thoughts.
