Connecting Cultures Reception

The latest Connecting Cultures desert debates took place here in Oman earlier   the month, when 18 young people, 8 from European nations, and 8 from Arab nations come together to learn more about each other’s cultures, and to discuss global issues. This, the seventh such journey to take place in Oman, sees young people come together from the UK, Oman, Jordan, Spain, Lebanon, Switzerland, Yemen, Netherlands, Morocco, Poland, Iraq, Egypt and Slovenia.

The Connecting Cultures programme is recognised by UNESCO and the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations as one of the world’s leading civil society initiatives. Run by Outward Bound Oman/Tahaddi, in close partnership with the Ministry of Education/National Commission to UNESCO in Muscat, the programme showcases Oman, and Omani culture and hospitality to a global audience, and is now generously supported each year by the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Centre.

On the conclusion of their journey in the Sharqiya Sands in January 2010, the Connecting Cultures team spoke about their experiences in front of Dr Irina Bukova, the Director General of UNESCO, and in 2009 the estimated media reach was 28 million people through coverage in the global press and media, and BBC World Service news-online.

Mark Evans, founder of the Connecting Cultures programme, said that ‘there is no better place to showcase the Arab world than Oman. Every Connecting Cultures course we run here gets better and better each year, and the young people – complete strangers on day one - become close friends through the experience, and many of our alumni, enthused by their experiences in Oman, have gone on to do some extraordinary things in their own communities’.     

Working alongside Evans on the next course are two global leaders in their own fields; Dr. Peter Allison from the Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences, The Moray House School of Education at The University of Edinburgh in the UK will be doing a preliminary assessment the course to identify how the impact of the experience on the young people can be measured. He will be joined by Andrew Johnson, a professional facilitator who has worked with leading companies such as IMPACT and Outward Bound, and who has worked on three previous Connecting Cultures courses here in Oman. 

On January 12th 2012, eighteen outstanding young women from around the world gathered in Muscat and began an extraordinary five day journey in Oman, travelling on foot and by camel through the Sharqiya Sands desert.

The team was made up of inspirational young women from Oman, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Iraq, Yemen, Germany, Morocco, Slovenia, Lebanon, Spain and Jordan. The focus of their journey was a series of desert debates that promote a greater understanding of each other’s cultures. The debates are part of a programme called Connecting Cultures which seeks to promote dialogue between young people.

On January 17th, the young women left the desert and travel back to Muscat for a well-earned shower, before they flew back home.

A garden reception and presentation by these young women was held at the British Embassy in Shatti, hosted by Deputy Head of Mission Helen Gates on January 17.

Helen Gates, Deputy Head of Mission speech  [PDF , 289KB]

Please find links to local press coverage of the reception : Times of Oman, Muscat Daily, AlShabiba.