Yemen Observer: http://www.yobserver.com
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Written By: Observer Staff
Article Date: Sep 2, 2008 - 3:43:59 AM
Scouts in the Arab World started an initiative of their own in order to get to know each others’ cultures. This is a similar to the UNESCO initiative of selecting one city in the Arab World as the cultural capital.
“The Yemeni Boy Scouts has been improved due to President Saleh’s encouragement,” said the participants of 17th meeting for Arab scouts and the 11th international meeting aimed at knowing other civilizations and cultures. Many scouts of different Arab countries have taken part in this meeting, which was held for the first time in Yemen.
Around 500 scouts from 42 Arab and other countries joined this meeting. Though it was the first time that Yemen played host to rangers and scouts, its level of preparation gained the admiration of all participants.
The General Secretary of the Scout Arab Organization, Atef Abdul-Mageed, said that by hosting these two meetings, Yemen is making history for the camps since they began. Abdul-Mageed said that the scout organization will work hard in order to expand the activities of the scout movement and develop their programs to meet the needs and wishes of the national and Arab societies.
“I attended these two meetings to see the progress that has characterized in the exchange of cultures, which seeks to attain solidarity among scouts of the whole world,” said the director of European Territory Scout David Macki.
He said what he saw from the old buildings and historical areas made him feel that Yemen has had a long history but it also has a future in tourism.
Other participants admired the preparation. “Yemeni scouts managed to provide all means of comfort and care for participants, and this is clear evidence to what the Yemeni scouts have endeavored to achieve due to the government encouragement headed by the President Saleh,” said Commissioner of Scouts and Guides Jordanian Association Mounther al-Zamili. He thanked President Saleh for exempting participants from participation fees which had the greatest impact on all delegations in supporting the success of the meetings.
The head of the Saudi Arabian delegation, Mohamed Alloush, expressed his delight at the successful hosting and the provisions provided to make the possibilities of meetings successful.
The head of Sudanese delegation, Mohammed Masb Fadha, said that their participation in the meeting gave them a feeling that they are not strangers; they are in their second homeland of Yemen because of the deep and historical link between the two countries.
He pointed out that by taking part in this meeting they learned many things about Yemen and the Yemeni civilization, and he said they will present this beautiful image about Yemen to all people they know.
“I was surprised by Yemen in terms of historic sites and landscapes, which impressed not only me but all participants who had not envisioned anything like it before arriving to Yemen,” stated the Chairman of the Egyptian Mohammed Dasuqi. He added that this is his first visit to Yemen despite knowing all the scouts directors for 20 years.