JEDDAH — Duke of Cambridge Prince William, and his brother, Prince Harry, were two of the distinguished members in whose presence the “Safe Driving, Life Saving” (SDLS) campaign winners from Saudi Arabia were awarded recently in the United Kingdom at the G.C.C Polo Cup. The Saudi-based BMG Financial Group's philanthropic arm, BMG Foundation organized the exciting and long-running GCC Polo Cup for the 18th year at Cirencester Park,UK.The rampant menace of reckless driving and the high death-toll statistics emerging from Saudi Arabia inspired BMG Foundation to roll-out the year-long SDLS public awareness campaign early this year in Saudi Arabia and around the G.C.C region. A competition was created for university students across the G.C.C who submitted video and still-graphic design entries highlighting the cause of irresponsible driving. The young British princes contended in the G.C.C Polo Cup with Prince William leading the Maserati team against the BMG Foundation team captained by his brother Prince Harry. With unprecedented flair, the exciting Polo game left guests and bystanders in excited anticipation, awaiting to see which team led by the royal princes would win the cup organized by BMG Foundation. The polo match ended in a victory for the Duke of Cambridge's team with a unique opportunity for the guests to focus on bridging business, social and philanthropic networks in a gathering of the most influential leaders of both East and West. Winners Omar Al Sabbagh, Tazim Khan and Rabia Babar Khan were invited to the GCC Polo Cup ceremony to be felicitated by Basil Al Ghalayini, CEO and chairman of the BMG Financial Group and Foundation, for their outstanding and creative submissions in the competition. “To address the issue of safe driving is of paramount importance when so many people are losing lives on the road unnecessarily due to negligence. The GCC Polo Cup was a very remarkable platform for us to acknowledge the participation of our supporters in our campaign toward saving lives,” said Al Ghalayini. The University of Dammam, Gulf University for Science & Technology, King Abdul Aziz University and Al Faisal University supported the SDLS campaign at their campuses. Statistics issued by the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia indicate that the country has witnessed more than 485,000 traffic accidents in the past two decades. An average of 20 people lose their lives every day in traffic accidents on the roads of Saudi Arabia. According to the figures, traffic accidents are the primary cause of death of young men between the ages of 16 and 36. Many philanthropic entities from Saudi Arabia that included National Commercial Bank, UCA, Al Isthithmar Capital, Haji Hussein Ali Reza and Co., Tamer SA'AID, Saudi Investment Bank and King Khalid Foundation participated in the “Safe Driving, Life Saving” campaign as part of their social corporate responsibility. CSR-centric companies like Med Gulf, Saudi Orix Leasing Company, APCO, Digital Gateway and Akar One continued to support the “Safe Driving, Life Saving,” campaign throughout the phase of the competition. The foundation will be committed to the campaign by securing further participation by the general public in ensuring youth and other drivers are educated about the damaging repercussions caused to self, families and the country at large by irresponsible driving behavior. — SG
