MKF Launches Third Year of "Ithra Youth" Programme

Manama, 18 February / BNA / AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation has launched the third year of its Ithra Youth programme, during an introductory meeting that brought together the Foundation's officials and the parents of the students taking part in the programme. The gathering was held last Thursday at Isa Cultural Centre.

On this occasion, Her Highness Shaikha Zain bint Khalid Al Khalifa, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation, said: "We are confident that the attendance and engagement of parents at this introductory meeting will help us achieve our vision of empowering young people to discover their full potential and encouraging them to become active members of society."

She added: "At AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation, we believe in the importance of volunteer work as an integral part of our Islamic values and Bahraini culture, values that we seek to instil in today's youth through this programme."

The meeting also featured a speech by Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, member of the Board of Trustees of AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation, who said: "The Ithra Youth programme is a training programme that includes approximately 200 male and female students, whom we train over a period of four years. Participants nominated for the programme are aged between 13 and 17 years, and the programme begins today its third year. It seeks to promote and instil educational values that help build and develop life skills and leadership qualities, and to nurture the skills of Bahraini youth and develop their intellectual, mental and physical abilities and talents, so that they become capable of serving their community and their nation."

She added that the third edition of the programme focuses on engaging the participating student with the community as an active member who serves himself, his society and his country. The Foundation seeks to achieve this focus through training workshops, field visits and purposeful camps, in addition to community service.

Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa noted: "The programme comprises three main pillars: upbringing, through motivation and guidance towards positive behaviour; education, through imparting knowledge and theoretical information; and training, through the practical application of the programme's pillars."

For her part, Fatima Al Jar, Ithra Youth Programme Officer, said in her speech: "In its third year, the programme focuses on enhancing knowledge and understanding by highlighting the participant's responsibilities as an active member of society; on building capabilities by enabling participants to speak confidently before large groups; and on the practical dimension by emphasising the importance of commitment and responsibility."

She added: "The programme is a continuous training programme designed to reinforce values over the course of four years, with a diverse range of values presented to participants. What distinguishes the Ithra programme is that it delivers its training message in an enjoyable, educational manner, which contributes significantly to strengthening these concepts among participants."

For his part, Salem Al Mutawa, Head of Trainers in the programme, stated that the programme got under way this week with a session for female students on Friday and another for male students on Saturday, in which the trainers focused on reviewing the values covered in the previous edition of the Ithra programme through a number of enjoyable training activities for the students, reflecting the programme's belief in the importance of combining fun with training in order to convey and embed the training message more deeply.

He added that, during its first week, the programme concentrated on revisiting the previously covered values through a number of training activities of an enjoyable nature for the students, in which they took part in exercises focusing on leadership and teamwork, as well as planning and its importance.

About AlMabarrah:

AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation was established on 30 May 2011. It is a non-profit organisation licensed by the Ministry of Social Development and managed by an independent Board of Trustees with extensive experience in community service. The Foundation aims to empower promising national talent by offering integrated programmes that help them achieve success.

AlMabarrah's vision centres on achieving the academic excellence sought for every Bahraini citizen, enabling them to become an active member of society, dynamic and energetic, and capable of strengthening channels of communication and interaction. In line with Bahrain's Vision 2030, the Foundation will continue its serious commitment to advancing the education sector, providing training opportunities and consolidating the concepts of social responsibility.