RIYADH: Using the Internet smartly and safely is the aim of the digital literacy initiative “Kulluna Online” (We’re All Online) launched by the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (MiSK) and Google on Tuesday.
Starting this semester, around 10,000 boys and girls at 50 schools in Riyadh will attend interactive workshops by Google-trained facilitators, as part of the multiyear program that will later expand to include other parts of Saudi Arabia. 
“Given the notable growth of usage of the digital world, whether through regular browsing or instant messaging applications, it was necessary that we find a creative initiative to spread awareness on digital safety,” said Badr Al-Asaker, MiSk secretary-general.
“Kulluna Online was the product of MiSK’s belief that the Internet has become one of the most important languages of our time and a necessary tool for development. The program aims to spread digital awareness and to keep up with the latest global practices, which ensures safe Internet browsing.”
The day started at Riyadh schools with an interactive, chatty session between young onstage presenters and the audience, mainly students from elementary and intermediate grades.
Saudi Arabia has 21 million Internet users out of a population of some 32 million, Education Minister Ahmed Al-Issa said in his keynote speech. 
Speaking at a press conference, Mohamed Al-Harthi, deputy minister of education for curricula and educational programs, said: “Executing this program comes in terms of activating Saudi Vision 2030 and enhancing the partnership between the public and non-profit sectors.”
The idea of the program started by gathering feedback from school students, their parents and teachers via focus groups delivered by MiSK, and listening to their concerns over their children’s digital usage and presence.
The workshops will teach students to think carefully before posting something online, and how to protect their privacy by not sharing passwords or oversharing personal photos.
It will also teach them how to avoid being victims of phishing, spam and identity theft, as well as how to have a positive attitude online.
Sam Blatteis, Google head of government relations and public policy for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), believes education lies at the heart of realizing Google’s mission: To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
“What this project is doing is helping in one way to contribute to the foundation, setting the stage for developing a longer-term confidence and interest in the Internet economy,” he told Arab News.
“Parents have done a great job teaching children how to protect themselves offline by telling them not to talk to strangers or not to take candy from them. But there’s a growing need now for youth to have the same skills online. Think before you post. You are what you share.”
Delivering the program will adopt a gamification technique to transform online safety education into memorable and fun content that children can embrace.
Google will gather post-mortem feedback in the form of qualitative and quantitative data from students, teachers and trainers to get an idea of the change in perceptions before and after the program.
“There are a lot of programs on online safety in terms of dos and don’ts, and they were often referred to in the context of cybersecurity,” Blatteis said.
“We thought there’s an untapped potential to popularize it and socialize this program through calling it ‘digital literacy,’ to bring to life how this (program) is something that can be uplifting and give kids confidence when they surf online.
“That was a finding that we at Google found through our studies over the past couple of years in the GCC.”
When asked about the possibility of hosting students to do internships at Google, he said: “We want to focus on delivering this program. I think there are inspiring kids here, and we’re making efforts in localizing the content.
“We tried to make it ‘Googley’ and give it a glimpse of some of Google’s culture, but long-term an aspiration I have is to help develop youth to… one day apply for internships at places like Google.”
Google has structured similar programs that were applied at schools in the US and UK.
MiSK, Google form joint initiative on children’s Internet safety
MiSK, Google form joint initiative on children’s Internet safety
Sudan’s army chief receives Saudi deputy foreign minister in Port Sudan
- During the meeting, Al-Khuraiji stressed the keenness of the Kingdom’s leadership on restoring security and stability in Sudan
RIYADH: Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan received Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji in Port Sudan on Tuesday.
During the meeting, Al-Khuraiji stressed the keenness of the Kingdom’s leadership on restoring security and stability in Sudan.
The minister’s visit to the country comes as part of the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to address the crisis in Sudan, reach a ceasefire, and restore stability to the country.
The Kingdom continues to support the humanitarian response efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people, Saudi Press Agency said.
Saudi pavilion at UNESCO Arab Week in Paris celebrates Kingdom’s camel culture
- It shows how the role of the camel evolved from essential means of transport and provider of resources to a cultural icon embodying the Kingdom’s values
PARIS: The Saudi pavilion at UNESCO’s Arab Week event in Paris this week featured a showcase of the Kingdom’s deep-rooted connection to camel culture.
It explored the role of the animals as a vital part of the nation’s heritage, identity and civilization, and offered a glimpse into their enduring place in society, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The exhibits showed how the role of the camel has evolved from essential means of transport and provider of resources to a cultural icon that embodies the Kingdom’s values, and the ways in which camels are embedded in Saudi customs, traditions and literature, including poetry and proverbs.
The Saudi Ministry of Culture designated 2024 “The Year of the Camel” to highlight and reinforce the status of the animal as a national symbol and cornerstone of the Arabian cultural identity. Camels are regularly celebrated across the country through dedicated festivals, race events, clubs and research centers.
UNESCO’s Arab Week, which features 22 Arab nations, was initiated by Saudi Arabia. Guests at the official opening of the event on Monday included Saudi envoys, ambassadors representing other nations, Arab and other international diplomats stationed in France, and officials from UNESCO.
AI makes media industry more efficient and drives growth, expert says
- Martin Sorrell: ‘AI speeds up writing processes, increasing efficiency’
- New tech allows for increasingly personalized content
RIYADH: Artificial intelligence is being used more effectively and efficiently to drive higher economic development in the media industry, said Martin Sorrell, founder and executive chairman of S4 Capital.
At a panel session at the Athar Festival of Creativity Sorrell described how media agencies, such as S4 Capital and its subsidiary, Media.Monks, are using AI in a number of ways.
One application of AI in media, he said, is in “speeding the execution of copywriting and visualization.”
Time to market is drastically decreasing: “What took us literally days is now taking us three hours,” he said. Yet this produces another problem because reducing the time of procurement cuts costs, but this also means it is necessary to move to a model that increases gains in outputs,” he said.
Another application is in personalizing content for consumers. Sorrell told Arab News: “Individualization, hyper personalization, are going to become more important. Knowing the consumer in excruciating detail, using data, using the signals from the platforms, using first-party data, it becomes even more important.”
Using Netflix audience feedback algorithms as an example, Sorrell pointed out that AI enables these algorithms to produce larger and more accurate quantities of output, for example, recommendations based on user profile readings.
“We charge on a per asset used basis. Price of the asset may come down, but total revenue grows because we’re using multiple assets,” he said.
A growing area is in “media planning and buying.” Sophisticated algorithms can far more efficiently choose the distribution of planning and buying than individual media planners.
Technological capital and human capital, however, go hand in hand.
“We as agencies have to validate the algorithm’s analysis. We have to make sure that the client’s money is spent in the right way.”
Another benefit of AI is its ability to improve organizational efficiency. Where organizational silos once kept departments and specializations separate, AI opens up information to the majority of users.
To maintain the emotional connection and trust of the brand-consumer relationship in a technologically driven world, according to Sorrell, understanding individual motivation is increasingly crucial.
“Insights into culture, insights into language, into custom, into belief, into family, into country, that knowledge becomes critically important, far more so in a globalized world,” he said.
The diversity and knowledge of global and local organizations are essential for the success of any company, but the value of personalization means that local knowledge may take the lead, he added.
Quoting Harvard Business School professor Ted Levitt, Sorrell continued: “because remember, consumers will consume everything in the same way everywhere.”
Advising young professionals in tech, media and other industries operating in an AI-powered future, Sorrell said that rather than stripping away opportunities from creatives, avoiding the risk of “bombarding” consumers with much of the same, AI means “creativity becomes even more important.”
Additionally, creatives need to familiarize themselves with the skills and roles that are complementary to the new world: “I think every creative should learn Chinese. I think every creative should learn Spanish, probably Arabic too … and they should learn code.”
“The skills of the ‘Mad Men’, that Don Draper had or his colleagues … are very different to what you need now.”
Saudi Arabia has launched 22 new routes this year as part of tourism drive, ACP’s CEO says
- Kingdom has attracted 12 new airlines to date in 2024
LONDON: Saudi Arabia has launched 22 new routes from various destinations to the Kingdom this year, increasing tourist seating capacity by nearly 2 million, the CEO of the Air Connectivity Program has said.
Speaking at the Umrah+ Connect business-to-business event in London on Monday, Majid Khan said the Kingdom had attracted 12 new airlines to date in 2024.
Khan said: “There has been good expansion out of the UK. Virgin Atlantic is going to start daily flights from Heathrow to Riyadh in March; British Airways launched flights to Jeddah yesterday; Wizz Air will also be operating Gatwick to Jeddah flights daily.
“We are definitely focusing on our own carriers as well, because they are definitely our first priority; Flynas, flyadeal, Saudia, and Riyadh Air in the future.
“But we are also proactively working with international carriers in order to help us to get a higher share of inbound tourism to the Kingdom, as they have their sales and marketing channels in this part of the world.
“We know that the majority of BA travelers are not Saudis. They are actually travelers from the UK market, from their network in Europe and North America.”
Saudi Arabia has a strong, strategic location and travelers can reach more than half of the world within a six-hour flight, Khan said. He added that the ACP was working to deliver 150 million tourists to the Kingdom as part of Saudi Vision 2030.
He said: “Saudi Arabia is like one continent. We have 1,700 km of coastline, the new Maldives that’s actually the Red Sea, the two holiest sites for Muslims in the world, and mountainous regions.
“In the south we have Abha and Jazan, which I would personally call the Switzerland of Saudi Arabia. So it’s definitely an untouched wonder.”
An exhibition at the event highlighted new tourism developments in the Kingdom that British pilgrims can enjoy, including religious sites and activities that promote an understanding of Saudi cultural heritage.
Khan said the ACP was trying to revolutionize the way pilgrims travel, allowing them to holiday in the Kingdom after performing their religious rituals.
He said: “If we take the UK market, travelers typically have one Umrah ticket in their pocket to perform the minor pilgrimage with their family and friends. They then come back again to the UK, and have a separate ticket to either Dubai, Istanbul, or Malaga.
“This is something we would like to change. Travelers can perform Umrah, see the sacred places, and then save their tickets and continue to travel around the Kingdom. That’s the way we try to position Saudi Arabia.”
Rashid Mohammed, the organizer of Umrah+ Connect, said that Monday’s event had provided an opportunity for Umrah travel agents to network and grow their businesses.
Mohammed said: “We’ve brought you a diverse experience here in London, and it’s for you to use these tools, through connecting with people, to create packages that enhance and enrich pilgrim experiences.
“We’re also grateful for the support of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, and the Umrah and Ziyarah Forum, who are here today and have really backed us to put on this show.”
Saudi minister receives German foreign ministry official
- Discussions focused on enhancing relations, regional and international developments and issues of common concern
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Saud Al-Sati received Gregory Bledjian, head of the Middle East division at the German Foreign Ministry, and several accompanying officials, in Riyadh on Tuesday.
During the meeting, they discussed ways to enhance relations, regional and international developments, and issues of common interest, the Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Shoura Council Speaker Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh received Turkiye’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Emrullah Isler in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
