DEPUTY OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING ATTENDS BAHRAIN FIRST FESTIVAL
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Deputy of His Majesty the King and Crown Prince took pride in the great Spirit of patriotism that was clearly manifested by all Bahrainis in the midst of Bahrain’s celebration of the 10th Anniversary of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s Accession to the Throne, the 38th National Day and of nine decades since the launch of public education in Bahrain.
Ten years of welfare have now elapsed during which His Majesty, has won the hearts of the citizens as a king and father and consecrated his time and effort to the welfare of the nation so that each citizen lives in dignity and be proud of his cherished kingdom, Prince Salman said. This came as he attended, in the presence of his son, Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, on behalf of His Majesty King Hamad bin is Al Khalifa the Bahrain First Festival (Bahrain Awalan).
The event was organized by the Ministry of Education at the Bahrain National Stadium today as part of the kingdom’s national celebrations. Prince Salman, conveyed thanks, greetings and congratulations from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to all the students who participated in the festival. He also extended, on behalf of His Majesty, warm thanks, greetings and congratulations to all the organizers of the festival at the Ministry of Education, the Minister, personnel and parents.
The Deputy of His Majesty the King also conveyed HM’s delight with the youth’s spirit of patriotism and belonging to the kingdom and his wishes of progress and success to all of them. Bahrain First, as you all know, is not just a number or simple worlds repeated by people rather than it denotes the love we feel towards the nation and the King of the hearts, he explained. “Bahrain First” implies development, productivity, integration, unity and cohesion.<br>It also means that people’s dreams for a better life are now coming true through the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 which has been approved by His Majesty the King as a means to develop Bahrain, Prince Salman noted.
He wished Bahrain permanent glory and The King of Hearts and all the citizens many happy returns.<br> His Majesty’s Deputy was welcomed on arrival at the ceremony site by Education Minister Dr. Majid bin Ali Al Nuaimi and senior officials at the Ministry.
Then, the National Anthem was performed, followed by a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran. Later on, the Education Minister delivered a speech in which he extended thanks and appreciation to His Majesty the King for patronizing the event which the Ministry of Education organises annually to instill good citizenship in the youth and embed their allegiance to HM the King and the nation. Many are the sports, education, arts and scouts programmes that the ministry implements throughout the year to reinforce lofty national principles, The Minister said. He said “more than 1300 activities that have been held during the current year to develop talents”, citing in particular today’s festival, being held with the participation of thousands of students and mentioning the activity on the longest greeting card to His Majesty the King which took place yesterday with the participation of over 8000 male and female students.
He took pride in the quantitative and qualitative accomplishments made so far including 17 development projects which were not to see daylight without the constant support received from his Majesty the King, His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman. Testifying to our remarkable educational achievements is UNESCO’s 2007- 2008 “education for all” report which ranked Bahrain, the only Arab State, among the first world countries that had attained its objectives, the Minister said. In this context, he also pointed to other indexes, to the education law of 2005 and the ongoing implementation of the National Education and Training Development Project, being currently in progress, under Prince Salman’s patronage and constant follow-up. It aims to upgrade education and prepare Bahraini workers to be a second to none choice in the labour market, he remarked.
On the other Hand Dr. Nuaimi said Bahrain First Festival coincided with the celebration of 9 decades since the launch of public education in Bahrain, in a bid to link the past with the present. The opening of Al Hidaya Al Khalifiya School in 1919 was the first step towards modernization that has been pushed forward by Bahrain’s successive leaderships to embark on the propagation of electronic education in 2009 through King Hamad Future Schools and culminate in securing a seat at school for every student at all educational stages, the Minister added.
Now, we are directing our efforts to quality through the initiative of the National Project for the Development of Education and Training, he boasted, expressing, on behalf of the educationists, appreciation of the Crown Prince’s consideration of education as a national priority as stipulated by Vision 2030. He explained how initiatives were being translated into facts on the ground to represent a qualitative leap from the primary stage to higher education thanks to the efforts of tens of committees and work teams and over 200 specialists and experts.
Finally, the Minister thanked the participating students and teachers and the sponsors including BATELCO, BANAGAS and others.<br> Throughout the festival, students have been waving flags and enchanting national slogans to express their immense joy on the occasion of the national festivities. The festival also featured various activities and programs performed by around 27 thousand school boys and girls who kept expressing loyalty to the nation and the wise leadership and praised through their chorales and songs the tremendous national achievements.
Famous singers such as Rashid Al Majid, Ahmed Al Jumri and Ahmed Al Harami were also present and entertained the audience with national songs. The ceremony concluded with the Loyalty and Love Oath, a choral performed by a host of participating students. Meantime, The Education Minister presented a commemorative gift to His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Deputy of His Majesty the King and Crown Prince.
