and a group from WOSM attended an international assembly in the King Abdullah Economic City, before officially launching the program at a ceremony held in KAUST stadium. [52]
The name ‘Messengers of Peace’ was first announced during the Scout Jamboree event, which I attended in Sweden. I was invited to join the King of Sweden for a luncheon at his summer palace. After presenting him with a statuette of the Makkah Clock Tower on behalf of King Abdullah, I told him that we had decided on the name Messengers of Peace. The name was based on a statement made by King Abdullah to a visiting WOSM delegation in 2003 in the shadow of the September 11 th terrorist attacks, where he said: “The world is going through a painful stage in its history, but the type of humanitarian volunteer work being carried out by young people like you gives a glimmer of hope. Indeed, you are all mess engers of peace.” While drinking coffee with Sweden’s king and queen and a group of the Boy Scouts, one of the Swedish scouts was asked what the Messengers of Peace program means to WOSM. Without hesitation, the boy replied: “It gave us a cause.” Hearing this response, I sensed the scouts’ sincerity and from that point forward endeavored to support an international program that has an impact on volunteer work around the globe. In fact, many Boy Scouts today say that since the movement was founded by Robert Baden-Powell, there has never been a program that embodied its mission and principles more than the Messengers of Peace. I had hoped the initiative to turn the Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association into a civil society organization – which was brought before the royal court – and see the light of day. There was even a proposal submitted to the Ministry of Education to turn the land owned by the scouts in Makkah into an investment-sustained endowment. In fact, this is what we had initially planned. Given the role played by the scouts in serving pilgrims, this had the potential of drawing in Muslim scouts from all over the Arab and Islamic worlds to partake in the huge efforts exerted by the government to serve the Two Holy Mosques. After seeing the huge services provided to pilgrims by the Kingdom, these young Muslims would return home, bearing a powerful message of peace. This would increase the overall impact of the volunteer work and spread fundamental human values. [53] I had also hoped that an international training center for volunteer work be established in the King Abdullah Economic City to prepare young people to face crises and contribute to relief efforts with confidence and strength. I should point out that we did make some positive steps towards empowering women scouts. With the encouragement of the ministry, female guides took on special roles and began participating in volunteer scout work. This started during the Hajj season as women helped volunteers to serve pilgrims at the Grand Mosque. [54] Education has also played a significant role in strengthening ties among the GCC states. While it may not be known to many, the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS), established in 1975, was the nucleus from which the GCC was formed in 1981. This is a long story that I first heard from the late Dr Abdulaziz Al Khowaiter. What was remarkable about the ABEGS was the collaborative spirt and optimism about the future shared by everyone in the organization. The periodic meetings and joint exhibitions held by the bureau carried a message that makes those working in the education sector feel they are following the same shared path to success. Those of us a t the Ministry of Education sought to build on the bureau’s success by submitting a proposal to extend its mission and better enable it to carry out its core functions. Given that Saudi Arabia hosts the ABEGS permanent headquarters, Saudi representatives took the initiative to develop a new strategy combining the Gulf states’ education goals and ensuring sustainability of our mission
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