Saudi Arabia will host the 1st International Conference on Giftedness and Creativity on Nov. 8. Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal Bin Bandar will inaugurate the two-day event under the aegis of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. The conference, to be held every two years, is being organized by King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and G20 Saudi Secretariat as part of The International Conferences Program, honoring the Saudi G20 Presidency year 2020. Among other pressing issues, it aims to highlight the Kingdom's experience in identifying and nurturing raw talent through Mawhiba's platform and use those insights to form a global model for others to emulate. The secretary-general of Mawhiba, Dr. Saud Bin Saeed Al-Mathami, said the conference is a message from Saudi Arabia to the world. "The conference foresees the future and enhances Saudi Arabia's global leadership in developing talented and creative youths," he said. The event, he added, seeks to explore new horizons and to make use of the opportunities that lie ahead. Al-Mathami said the conference seeks to serve as a global platform for virtual communication, bringing together experts, leaders, and policymakers to support and empower talented, creative, and innovative youth from different parts of the world. The participants will discuss the future of science and technology, and ways to nurture talented and creative people using modern tools and highlight the role of virtual reality in confronting global crises and challenges. Al-Mathami said the conference would discuss the future of virtual reality and its impact on human development. "It also helps in broadening the scope of international cooperation through effective partnerships to develop the human capital of the talented, creative, and innovative young people to face global developments and challenges." He said several regional and global initiatives to sponsor talented people would be announced during the conference. "It will also discuss the prominent global practices used in identifying and developing skills of talented youth. Talented Mawhiba students will moderate panel discussions and other sessions of the conference." Mawhiba is considered the first of its kind in the world in discovering and nurturing talents and empowering them. It has so far succeeded in discovering and caring for more than 161,000 talented students in Saudi Arabia. It has expanded its work to include other countries. It has also achieved international successes, which culminated in 384 international qualitative wins in genuine scientific competitions. — PRNewswire
