Disillusioned young people here have formed a special online cultural community to highlight and discuss issues of importance to them. Mahmoud Sabbagh, a culture enthusiast, said the community was formed because the Jeddah Literary and Cultural Club has been ineffective. He said there was too much “centralized” decision-making. This has resulted in young people remaining uninformed and struggling to discover themselves. “The club in Jeddah requires a special committee in the Makkah governorate to approve its agenda six months in advance. In addition, the club itself has a centralized structure that hinders any vital efforts to appeal to young people or society at large,” he explained. Sabbagh, who visited the club a few times, said that he has never made any suggestion to any official body about cultural activities, because he believes it is “hopeless”. “I have written many articles in Al-Watan newspaper pinpointing the ineffectiveness of the Jeddah Literary and Cultural Club. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. We need to fix the structure, and give more freedom to the civil Cultural centers all over the world are anarchic, he said. “We should believe in their role as a mobilizing force in society. Today, beyond the depressing bureaucracy, there is a manic side of Jeddah that is evolving. Something should be done to incubate and celebrate all of this,” he explained. Ahmad (full name withheld on request), a 26-year-old graduate, said he no longer attends events at the club. “I had hoped to find something that would interest me, something relevant for my age, but I ended up wasting my time,” he said. “Even if there are events for young people, there is a lack of marketing,” he said. “Few people know that cultural clubs exist. Young intellectuals are treated as students not as educated thinkers who are the future of this country,” he added. However, he believes that Twitter has opened the door for young intellectuals to express and exchange ideas. “Now we can interact more freely and exchange ideas, books, events and articles on Twitter and then discuss them with all kinds of people,” he explained. Amira Kashgary, a member of the Jeddah Literary and Cultural Club, is optimistic about the new community. “We seek to interact more with young people and adopt their issues. Lack of youth activities is our main concern.” She said that the new community is aiming to build bridges with young people especially at schools and universities. “We will have a partnership with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education to promote activities such as workshops and training,” she said. Kashgary believes that the youth are neglected and there is a need to invest more in their abilities. “Twitter is a transition in culture and media. No doubt there is competitiveness between new and traditional media. Twitter is positive and it encourages people to be creative and innovative,” she added. __
