Volunteerism

The Lesson of Volunteerism in the London 2012 Olympics

By Mohamed Nadioui
Morocco World News
Rabat, August 13, 2012

The spectacular build-up and closing ceremony of London 2012 Olympic Games that was promised by the organizing committee came true. The engagement of volunteers in this ceremony was also astonishing and praised. More than 70000 volunteers were mobilized to make of this ceremony a breath-taking success.

Volunteers bid farewell to London 2012 Olympics.

At the close of the ceremony, watched by 10,000 athletes and 80,000 spectators in the stadium along with 30 million TV viewers, President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, who declared the Games of the 30th Olympiad closed, said: “We will never forget the smiles, the kindness and the support of the wonderful volunteers, the much-needed heroes of these Games.

“You, the spectators and the public, provided the soundtrack for these Games.”

“Your enthusiastic cheers energized its competitors and brought a festive spirit to every Olympic venue.”

The flame should be passed on to Arab Youth.

It is the British youth who will benefit from the legacy of the Olympics, especially the infrastructure. Thus, the Arab youth, striving to change their communities for the better, should draw an instructive lesson from this inspirational experience.

The wave of youth-led transformational change processes in the Arab region has highlighted youth as a positive asset for peace and development. To address the challenges and aspirations of youth, volunteering provides a viable sustainable mechanism that can turn their grievances and frustrations into positive energy and a social asset.

Youth particularly have the time, energy, and skills that can be readily drawn upon to address national development challenges. Youth volunteering can engage young men and women in a range of activities that can improve their participation and positively harness their energy to contribute to the realization of national and global development goals, while enhancing their life, citizenship, and especially work-related skills. At the same time, young people can improve their qualifications and readiness for employment through the professional and interpersonal expertise and leadership skills gained through volunteering.

Hence, the Arab youth should get involved in volunteering work at all levels in order to change their communities for the better and improve their readiness for employment and civic engagement.

• Mohamed Nadioui is a graduate translator from King Fahd Advanced School of Translation. He currently works as a technical translator for a French company based in Casablanca. He is a volunteer translator with the United Nations Volunteers in charge of translating the Arab States Portfolio at the UNV.

Supportive education!

parts of wahdoun (lonely) its a decumntry about childe abuse
this film had a main role in changing the chiled protection low in egypt

all the cases are real

Written and Directed by
Shereen Talaat

Destructive upbringing and behavior destroys for generations!
Is this what we want? Is such that we the strive in our communities?

Arabian nightmares!

The protests in the Middle East and North Africa – the Arab spring that seems to turn to become an Arabian nightmare!

Is this how we want our kids to grow up – among violence, despair and death?

Arab countries are in bloodshed or flames – lately in horrifying Syria where thousands of Syrians have been displaced by brutal violence and burning wheat fields.

At the border to Turkey fleeing Syrians are gathered in hope of crossing the border

The fugitives tell of how the regime uses its horrifying force to destroy and overwhelm its own citizens! And it is told that even animals are shot with machine guns, the water has been poisoned, electricity has been turned off and the wheat has been burned, says reporters reflecting witness statements from fleeing. And in addition, of course, an unknown number of people have been tortured, killed and arrested.

I just wonder: What is wrong with all kh-arab leaders? Shame on them, shame on them!

Rights!

Saudi female athletes: Heroes in London, ‘prostitutes of the Olympics’ at home!

Sarah, 19, and Wojdan, 16, are the first Saudi Arabian sportswomen to take part in the Olympic Games. But while they received standing ovations in London, they were hit with criticism and hatred at home.

­Saudi-American track athlete Sarah Attar trained for the games in the US, but chose to compete for Saudi Arabia.

She crossed the finish line almost a full lap behind her competitors – but that didn’t stop the crowd from cheering her on every step of the way.

Saudi Arabian athlete Wojdan Shaherkhani also failed to win a medal for her country, after losing a judo match to her Puerto Rican opponent. The competition lasted only 82 seconds.

However, Attar and Shaherkhani’s mere participation is seen as a huge victory because it was the first time Saudi Arabia sent female athletes to the Olympic Games.

The move is seen as a milestone toward meeting the International Olympics Committee’s (IOC) goal of sex equality and 50/50 participation at the Games.

But many in Saudi Arabia have rejected Attar and Shaherkhani’s participation in the event.

Millions of women and girls are banned from practicing sports in Saudi Arabia – even in the country’s colleges and schools.

When the IOC announced that the country would be sending two female athletes to the Games, the news was met with mixed reactions and comments on social networking sites.

While some viewed the announcement as a step toward equal rights for women in the Arab state, others considered their participation to be disrespectful to the country’s traditions.

One Twitter user responded by creating a hashtag which read “Prostitutes of the Olympics.” The creator was then severely criticized by other users.

The father of Wojdan Shaherkhani contacted the country’s interior minister to demand action against those who insulted his daughter.

Saudi Arabian media outlets tended to shy away from covering the female athletes’ performances.

Most newspapers chose to focus their attention solely on the bronze-winning Saudi equestrian show-jumping team, led by Prince Abdullah al Saud.

The Saudi Gazette faced strong criticism after becoming the only newspaper to provide full coverage of the sportswomen’s achievements.

The Saudi Olympic Committee, pushed by IOC regulations, overturned the ban on women athletes in June – just weeks before the Olympic opening ceremony in London.

The decision was met with opposition throughout the country.

If Saudi Arabian women were not allowed to participate in the London Games, the country would have been prohibited from sending teams to future Games, according to restrictions introduced by the IOC after the 2004 Olympics in Beijing.

It was a Catch 22 situation for Attar and Shaherkhani, who faced more challenges than their counterparts.

The athletes were given only two weeks to prepare for the Games, and did not receive proper training. The only thing they received were uniforms emblazoned with the Saudi logo on the back and chest.

Despite negative reactions, Attar and Shaherkhani hope their participation can pave the way for other female athletes in Saudi Arabia, as well as Qatar and Brunei – which also sent female participants to the Games for the first time.

“It is such an honor to be representing Saudi Arabia. Hopefully this can make such a huge difference,” Attar told reporters after the competition.

Source http://www.rt.com

Arab Art!

By Al Arabiya

Muna Saudi was born in Amman and is one of the few female Arab artists whose artwork all consists of stone, in particular in large-scale sculptures.

Saudi was born in 1945, when Amman was just a small town surrounding water springs and fenced by ancient archaeological sites. Her childhood consisted of playing around statue remnants and engraved pillars on archaeological sites. While growing up, she spent a lot of time watching the stones, contemplating life and the world we live in, she saw the statues as living creatures and she too wanted to create something that would linger forever.

Her sculptures were produced using marble, granite, limestone and other such materials, she uses etchings in the materials to complete them and make them her own. She often engraves refined Arabic calligraphy and Arabic words.

50 years have gone by and Saudi is still inspired by the stones and still works with them.

“In my view, the stones are fragile and obedient friends, and we always have friendly dialogues,” said Saudi.

Saudi’s dream was always to be able to study her love of art in Paris and after a lot of obstacles set out by her father’s strict views and the very masculine mindset of surroundings, she managed to move to Paris and study at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux Arts.

It was here that she was influenced by Brancusi and abstract works of art.

As well as her sculptures, she is also inspired by reading and writing poetry and she has also published drawings of Palestinian refugee children. She likes to support Palestine however she can and often organizes art exhibitions to raise money for the cause.

Her works can be found in Jordan, Beirut and at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, as well as in her home.

“I cannot find any space in my house to walk around as it is full of tables and chairs holding my sculptures,” said Saudi.

To read more and view Muna Saudi’s art please follow the link:
http://enawafeth.alarabiya.net/content/breaking-silence-stones