RIYADH, 13 November — The British Council will launch in January next year a program, known as "Open Minds", to increase dialogue between the Arab/Muslim world and the West. Director general of the British Council, David Green, said school links will be established in January next year enabling students in both countries to communicate through e-mail and exchange visits.
Green was speaking at a reception hosted at the residence of Dr. David Burton, director of the British Council in Saudi Arabia. The British Council chief is on a visit to the Kingdom and other Gulf states on a fact-finding mission to see for himself the council’s activities in the region and the scope for future cooperation.
During his stay in the capital, he held talks at the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education to get input on the government’s program for secondary and higher education. He also visited a women’s college in Jeddah for a briefing on women’s education.
Referring to the "Open Minds" project of the British Council, Green said conferences will also be held as part of a concerted effort to bridge the gulf between Islam and the West.
During his talks with Minister of Education Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed, he had proposed a scheme whereby the British Council could train Saudis as English teachers for elementary schools.
If accepted by the ministry, the British Council’s proposal could provide job opportunities for thousands of English teachers at the elementary level, where 2.3 million schoolchildren receive education in 5,729 government schools.
Green said he also explored the possibility of developing links between Saudi and British universities. In Jeddah, he discussed with the management of the Al-Faisaliah Group the scope for developing IT and business courses for school and college girls. Seminars and workshops could also be held in this regard.
The British Council has also announced that the last date for submitting applications for the Chevening Scholarship program has been extended till Thursday, Nov. 15.
