ALJCI recently signs a partnership agreement with the Jeddah Literary Cultural Club to encourage young intellectuals to publish their first works through the ALJCI First Work Initiative. — Courtesy photo JEDDAH — Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) continues with its efforts to launch new initiatives to support young people in the Kingdom. ALJCI recently signed a partnership agreement with the Jeddah Literary Cultural Club to encourage young talented litterateurs, researchers and intellectuals to publish their first works through the ALJCI First Work Initiative. The details of how to join this initiative will soon be communicated to the young people in our country. The partnership agreement was signed at the Jeddah Literary Cultural Club in Jeddah Municipality, in the presence of Dr. Ibrahim M. Badawood, General Executive Director of ALJCI, and Dr. Abldullah Al Salami, President of Jeddah Literary Cultural Club. This program aims to support talented young authors, artists, researchers as well as intellectuals who are interested in publishing their first book or other forms of the written word. They will be invited to submit their written work to specialized judging panels, which will filter the works based on a set of specific criteria. Once selected, a winner will be announced in each of the following categories: poetry, short stories and novels, drama theater, scientific research in literature and criticism, and blogs. The winning works will be published, and their authors recognized in an annual ceremony, held at the end of each year during which the program started. The winners will also be able to participate in training programs designed to further develop their skills and talents, as well as to introduce them to the cultural, scientific and literary circles. Commenting on the new partnership, Dr. Ibrahim M. Badawood, said: “Introducing new initiatives that foster employment in creative areas is an important side of ALJCI's activities. “One of our strategies is to enter into partnerships with organizations that are active in the community. “Undoubtedly, partnering with the Jeddah Literary Cultural Club presents a huge opportunity for the success of this program, taking into consideration that the Club enjoys the membership of prominent experts in this field and is already well-known among young people.” Dr. Abdullah Al Salami, president of Jeddah Literary Cultural Club, announced that the partnership with ALJCI was an important step for the Club, in terms of nurturing young people's literary work. He said that the partnership would produce a new generation of writers, litterateurs and intellectuals who would enrich the cultural scene, specially because ALJCI offers a wealth of experience in the field of community programs, not only in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also on the Arab and international levels. ALJCI operates in five main sectors, namely job creation, in which it created more than 350,000 employment opportunities since 2003, global poverty alleviation, arts and culture, education and training, as well as health and social well-being. — SG
