A group of 18 students from the Saudi Science Club is in Brazil to see organizations and centers directed to the technology, science and research areas in the country.
As well as São Paulo, the youngsters will go to Rio de Janeiro (in the Southeast of Brazil), Brasília (Midwest), Amazonas (North) and Paraná (South). The itinerary was prepared with help from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB), which will accompany the students’ visit.
“I think this exchange is important as the students will see our potential in the areas of teaching, technology and health and will be able to take a positive point of view of Brazil to Saudi Arabia,” stated the CCAB president, Antonio Sarkis Jr.
The group is formed by students of medicine, electric and mechanic engineering, among other things. “They are opinion makers,” said Sarkis. According to him, the CCAB is interested in supporting other exchange experiences such as this one, not only visits of Arab students, but also of Brazilian students to the Arab countries.
The Saudi students will be accompanied by three supervisors, amongst them the general director at the Science Club and another two journalists, who are to make a documentary video about the journey.
In May last year, the representative at the club, Firas Ikhwan, was in São Paulo to plan the exchange together with the CCAB. According to him, Brazil was chosen for having advanced knowledge in the technological area.
Agenda
The group will remain in Brazil until the 1st of September. In this period the Saudis will see, in São Paulo, the University of São Paulo (USP), the Morumbi stadium, the TV Bandeirantes television broadcasting station, the Syrian Sports Club, the Arab Studies center, the CCAB, the Brazil Mosque and the Brazilian Islamic School.
In the southern state of Paraná, they will visit the Itaipu hydroelectric station and the Iguaçu Falls, in the city of Foz do Iguaçu, and the Omar Ibn Al-Khatab Mosque. In Brasilia they will visit the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
In the states of Amazonas and Rio de Janeiro they will go for tourist outings, such as visiting museums, boat rides, walking in the Amazon jungle and visiting indigenous communities.
The Organization
The Saudi Science Club was founded in 1988 in the city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. The aim of the club is to motivate and encourage the high school and university students to develop their scientific vocation. The organization was only nationally acknowledged in 2000, under the direction of professor Adulhafeez Amin.
Internally the club promotes visits to mines, oil fields, universities, medical departments and astronomy programs. Once a year the students go for exchanges in other countries. They have already made journeys to Switzerland, United States, England, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Tanzania and Kenya.
To participate in these exchanges, the pupils must have fluent English, high grades, some technology knowledge and have participated in the science fairs in the country.
The Science Club is a non-profit semi-governmental organization. Exchanges have support from private donations and from the Saudi ruling prince in the region of Makkon, Abdelmajid bin Abdelaziz.
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