360 Scholarships to Accelerate Sustainability Education for Young Women Worldwide

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Available to young women (ages 15-17.5) around the world, applications are now open for the AFS Global STEM Accelerators: a full-scholarship virtual exchange program in sustainability, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), and positive social impact.

Global Stem Accelerators’ voices echo the desire for a brighter and more inclusive future.

The program is run by AFS Intercultural Programs, a global non-profit intercultural exchange network with more than 75 years’ experience in international education. AFS received Diversity Abroad’s 2022 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion in International Education (EDIIE) Award for the Accelerators’ successful inauguration. 20% of the scholarships will be allocated specifically for refugees and girls from displaced populations, whether from war, violence, or natural disaster.

The Accelerators program is part of a broader five-year scholarship initiative aimed at reaching 5,000 young people worldwide, with a focus on supporting women. The initiative is funded by bp, and the curricula is co-developed by AFS and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Social Impact Strategy. AFS conducts outreach with support from SPARK, an international NGO that creates pathways for young people, particularly women and refugees, in fragile communities worldwide. The program also provides internet and technical support for users in need.

Previous scholarship awardees reflect the diversity the program was designed to embrace: 20% were refugees or displaced persons; 82% identified as People of Color; 51% were from low-income households; and 10% are set to be the first in their families to graduate from high school.

AFS scholars’ voices echo the desire for a brighter and more inclusive future: “I am from a traditional society where girls don’t even have the right to go to school,” says Harira, a participant from Afghanistan. “Participating in this program is my first step toward achieving my goal to explore the world and become influential in improving sustainable societies.”

The Accelerators program culminates with scholars developing social impact capstone projects and presentations that offer potential solutions to real-world challenges, with an emphasis on sustainability. Participants earn the Advanced Certificate on Global Competence for Social Impact, awarded by AFS and the University of Pennsylvania.

“It is always exciting to see strong interest from brilliant young women around the world,” says Kerry Dryburgh, EVP people & culture, bp. “With their passion to make a difference and the skills they will learn, they are future changemakers, leaders and innovators.”

Applications are open until March 15, 2023, and the first cohort begins on May 13.
Learn more & apply: https://afs.org/global-stem/accelerators
.

AFS Intercultural Programs

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‫التذاكر معروضة للبيع الآن للنسخة الخامسة عشرة من بطولة الاتحاد للطيران للفورمولا 1 #ABUDHABIGP 

أبوظبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة،,  4 فبراير 2023/PRNewswire/ — قبل بداية موسم للفورمولا 1 لعام 2023، أعلنت إدارة أبوظبي لرياضة السيارات (ADMM) اليوم عن بيع تذاكر النسخة الخامسة عشرة من سباق الجائزة الكبرى للاتحاد للطيران للفورمولا 1 أبوظبي 2023.

Fans can secure their seat for the 15th edition of the #AbuDhabiGP from today with tickets now on sale

سيقام السباق الثالث والعشرون والأخير لموسم 2023 في الفترة من 26 إلى 29 نوفمبر في حلبة مرسى ياس، ليختتم أطول موسم في تاريخ الرياضة. ستشهد عطلة نهاية الأسبوع # AbuDhabiGP ، الممتدة على أربعة أيام، مجموعة فريدة من الرياضات الرائعة على المسار الصحيح، والتي تكملها مجموعة عالمية من تجارب الترفيه والضيافة على حلبة جزيرة ياس.

بعد عطلة نهاية أسبوع # AbuDhabiGP التي حطمت الرقم القياسي في عام 2022 والتي شهدت حضور أكبر عدد من الجماهير على الإطلاق، ولمكافأة المشجعين المخلصين، أكد المنظمون أن مشتري التذاكر المبكرة سيستفيدون من خصم “الطائر المبكر” والذي يصل إلى 20 في المائة على التذاكر المختارة أثناء طالما هي متوفرة. شهد الحدث بالفعل طلبًا غير مسبوق على تذاكر 2023، ويجب على أولئك الذين يتطلعون للحضور التحرك بسرعة لتجنب خيبة الأمل.

شهدت تذاكر نسخة 2022 مبيعات قياسية، حيث بيعت التذاكر بشكل أسرع من أي وقت مضى. لن يشهد هذا العام نهاية مثيرة فقط لموسم الفورمولا 1 الأطول على الإطلاق والتحولات المذهلة في فئتي دعم الفورمولا 2 والفورمولا 4، بل أيضًا مجموعة مذهلة من نجوم الموسيقى العالميين ومجموعة من تجارب الضيافة ذات المستوى العالمي في جميع أنحاء أربعة أيام عطلة نهاية الأسبوع.

This year's #AbuDhabiGP, serving as the final race of the F1 season, will bring exciting new additions to the region's biggest sports and entertainment weekend in November

بالإضافة إلى الوصول إلى يومهم في الحلبة، يمكن لحاملي تذاكر # AbuDhabiGP 2023 الاستمتاع بحفل المساء بالإضافة إلى الدخول المجاني إلى واحدة من حدائق المغامرات المليئة بالمرح في جزيرة ياس، بما في ذلك عالم فيراري أبو ظبي، وعالم Warner Bros . أبو ظبي، و Yas Waterworld ، أو عالم البحار أبو ظبي، مع العرض الذي يمتد عبر عطلة نهاية الأسبوع # AbuDhabiGP من  22 إلى 27 نوفمبر لحاملي التذاكر.

وقال سيف النعيمي، الرئيس التنفيذي لإدارة أبوظبي لرياضة السيارات: “إنه يوم فخر لنا أن نعلن أن تذاكر الإصدار الخامس عشر من الجائزة الكبرى للاتحاد للطيران للفورمولا 1 معروضة للبيع في وقت أبكر من أي وقت مضى. وبعد تسجيل رقم قياسي في عام 2022، والذي شهد حضور حشود قياسية في عطلة نهاية الأسبوع في جائزة أبوظبي الكبرى، شعرنا بسعادة غامرة لمشاهدة الطلب على التذاكر من قاعدة جماهيرنا الدولية، وتمثل بداية الموسم فرصة فريدة لضمان أن يتمكن مشجعونا محليًا ومن جميع أنحاء العالم من شراء تذاكرهم والتخطيط للموسم المقبل”.

“بالنسبة لعام 2023، كنا سعداء للعمل عن كثب مع شركائنا وجيراننا في جزيرة ياس لتقديم عدد من المزايا لرواد السباق، للمساعدة في بناء تجربة وجهة جزيرة ياس النهائية. وسيحظى المشجعون بفرصة حضور حفل موسيقي مذهل بعد السباق في حديقة الاتحاد ويوم واحد في واحدة من حدائق المغامرات ذات المستوى العالمي في الجزيرة، إلى جانب أربعة أيام من السباقات في عطلة نهاية الأسبوع في جائزة أبوظبي الكبرى، وكل ذلك كجزء من التذكرة. سيكون هناك المزيد للإعلان عنه خلال الأسابيع المقبلة، لذا ترقبوا”.

بعد تقديم التجارب المفضلة لدى المشجعين خلال عطلة نهاية الأسبوع، بما في ذلك المدرج الشمالي المستقيم الجديد و Deck at Nine ، الذي يمتد على طول ركن مرسى الجنوبي، هناك مجموعة من الخيارات المرنة لرواد السباق لتحقيق أقصى قدر من عطلة نهاية الأسبوع في # AbuDhabiGP هذا العام. ويشمل ذلك تذكرة “الجناح الدراج” و “جناح ياس المتعدد” الشهيرة، حيث يمكن للضيوف الاختيار بين تجربة أجزاء مختلفة من المكان خلال عطلة نهاية الأسبوع.

مع المزيد من الإعلانات المثيرة في المستقبل، يمكن للجماهير العثور على مزيد من المعلومات حول كيفية تأمين مقاعدهم في أكبر حدث رياضي وترفيهي في المنطقة على:  www.yasmarinacircuit.com

الصورة –  https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995586/Abu_Dhabi_Motorsports_Management.jpg

الصورة –  https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995587/Abu_Dhabi_Motorsports_Management_2.jpg 

‫احتفل وافرح بالسنة الصينية الجديدة مع العالم، قم بزيارة جيانغسو في عام الأرنب

نانجينغ، الصين , 4 فبراير / شباط 2023/PRNewswire/ — مع وصول عام الأرنب للتو في عام 2023، أطلق حساب وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي في الخارج @Visit Jiangsu التابع لإدارة الثقافة والسياحة بمقاطعة جيانغسو العديد من أنشطة السنة الصينية الجديدة على Facebook, وTwitter, وInstagram, وYouTube وTikTok من خلال أشكال تفاعلية إبداعية متنوعة مثل مقاطع الفيديو والصور والنصوص والبث المباشر الرقمي والتفاعل عبر الإنترنت وتحدي تحية السنة الصينية الجديدة بلغات متعددة وما إلى ذلك لمساعدة الأشخاص من جميع أنحاء العالم على التعرف على السنة الصينية الجديدة وثقافة جيانغسو. وصلت المنشورات إلى 3.08 مليون متابع وحذت على 662000 تفاعل، غطت ما يقرب من 100 دولة ومنطقة حول العالم، مما جلب للناس عيد سمعي وبصري لـ “سحر جيانغسو” المليء بأجواء السنة الصينية الجديدة.

هذا العام، منتجات وسائط التقارب المرئي للعام الصيني الجديد، مع دمج عناصر المعالم في جيانغسو، وقطع الورق للتراث الثقافي غير المادي، وعناصر مميزة أخرى، أنشأت لافتة عام الأرنب لوسائل التواصل الاجتماعي الخاصة بنا، وصور احجيات عبر الإنترنت وملصقات السنة الصينية الجديدة وغيرها من المنتجات المرئية الإبداعية التي تم تثبيتها في الأعلى على منصات متعددة. ونحن نسعى جاهدين لتقديم سنة صينية جديدة مثيرة للاهتمام وفريدة من نوعها في جيانغسو لمعجبينا في الخارج مع رؤية متعددة المستويات.

في الوقت نفسه، تم إعداد عمود خاص من “سحر جيانغسو” على حسابنا على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي @ Visit Jiangsu مع موضوع “سنة صينية جديدة سعيدة”. يتم إنتاج العمود مع موضوع “معرفة عادات السنة الصينية الجديدة في جيانغسو”، و”طعام السنة الصينية الجديدة في جيانغسو” و”جولة جيانغسو خلال السنة الصينية الجديدة” باللغات المحلية في الخارج لإدخال الثقافة والطعام ومناطق الجذب السياحي المتعلقة بالعام الصيني الجديد.

بالإضافة إلى ذلك، قدمت @ Visit Jiangsu باستمرار برامج السنة الصينية الجديدة الغنية إلى “البث المباشر السحابي” وحافظت على تحسين ابتكارها الرقمي. كما جمعت بين أشكال الأداء المتعدد والمشاهد الغامرة من خلال تقديم أنماط مختلفة من عروض السنة الصينية الجديدة حول ثقافة جيانغسو، وتخصيص فلتر AR للسنة الصينية الجديدة وطرق أخرى لخلق تجربة حسية جديدة في الثقافة والسياحة حول السنة الصينية الجديدة. حتى الآن، تم استخدام فلتر AR لـ 250000 مرة وحذت على 116000 تفاعل. شارك الناس من جميع أنحاء العالم في @ Visit Jiangsu عام الأرنب فلتر AR للاحتفال بالسنة الصينية الجديدة معًا.

@ Visit Jiangsu نفذت نشاطًا بعنوان “تحية السنة الصينية الجديدة بلغات متعددة” على منصات التواصل الاجتماعي في الخارج في ليلة رأس السنة الصينية لجعل الأصدقاء في الخارج يشعرون بالأجواء القوية للسنة الصينية الجديدة. لقد قمنا بدعوة المعجبين و KOLs في الخارج لاستقبال العام الصيني الجديد، والاحتفال بالعام الصيني الجديد مع @ Visit Jiangsu ، وتقديم أطيب التمنيات بالعام الصيني الجديد والشعور بسحر الترحيب بالعام الصيني الجديد بلغات مختلفة، مما يجعل اللغات والثقافات المختلفة أقرب معًا في شكل مقاطع فيديو وصور.

سلسلة من أنشطة “السنة الصينية الجديدة السعيدة” التي أنشأتها إدارة الثقافة والسياحة في مقاطعة جيانغسو أظهرت للجمهور في الخارج الأجواء الاحتفالية والحياة الترفيهية خلال السنة الصينية الجديدة وصورة أكثر انفتاحًا وتنوعًا وحيوية لجيانغسو، الصين.

الفيديو –  https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995489/video.mp4 

Celebrate & Rejoice Chinese New Year with the world, Visit Jiangsu in the Year of Rabbit

NANJING, China, Feb. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — As the Year of the Rabbit just arrived in 2023, the overseas social media account @Visit Jiangsu of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism launched several Chinese New Year activities on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok through various creative interactive forms such as videos, pictures and texts, digital live streaming, online interaction, Greeting the Chinese New Year in Multiple Languages Challenge and so on to help people from all around the world to learn about the Chinese New Year and the culture of Jiangsu. The posts reached 3.08 million followers and accumulated 662,000 interactions, covering nearly 100 countries and regions around the world, bringing people an audio-visual feast of “Charm of Jiangsu” which is full of Chinese New Year atmosphere.

This year, the Chinese New Year visual convergence media products, integrating elements of the landmarks in Jiangsu, paper cutting-an intangible cultural heritage, and other characteristic elements, created the Year of the Rabbit banner of our social media, photos of the online puzzle games, Chinese New Year posters and other creative visual products which were pinned to the top on multiple platforms. We strive to present an interesting and unique Chinese New Year in Jiangsu for our overseas fans with a multi-level vision.

At the same time, a special column of “The Charm of Jiangsu” was set up on our social media account @Visit Jiangsu with the topic of “Happy Chinese New Year”. The column is produced with the theme of “knowledge of Chinese New Year customs in Jiangsu”, “Chinese New Year food in Jiangsu” and “tour Jiangsu during the Chinese New Year” in localized languages overseas to introduce the Chinese New Year-related culture, food, and tourist attractions.

In addition, @Visit Jiangsu continuously introduced rich Chinese New Year programs to “cloud live broadcast” and kept improving its digital innovation. It also combined multiple-performance forms with immersive scenes through the introduction of different styles of Chinese New Year performances about Jiangsu’s culture, customizing Chinese New Year AR Filter and other ways to create a new sensory experience in culture and tourism about Chinese New Year. Up to now, the AR Filter has been used for 250,000 times and accumulated 116,000 interactions. People from all around the world participated in the @Visit Jiangsu Year of the Rabbit AR filter to celebrate the Chinese New Year together.

@Visit Jiangsu carried out an activity named “Greeting the Chinese New Year in Multiple Languages ” on overseas social media platforms on Chinese New Year’s Eve to make overseas friends feel the strong atmosphere of Chinese New Year. We invited fans and overseas KOLs to greet the Chinese New Year, celebrate the Chinese New Year with @Visit Jiangsu, extend best wishes for Chinese New Year and feel the charm of greeting the Chinese New Year in different languages, which brings different languages and cultures closer together in the form of videos and pictures.

A series of “Happy Chinese New Year” activities created by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has showed the overseas audience the festive atmosphere and leisure life during the Chinese New Year and a more open, diversified and energetic image of Jiangsu, China.

Video – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1995489/video.mp4

Shura Council, HH Shaikh Nasser AI Centre sign MoU

The Shura Council and the His Highness Shaikh Nasser Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Centre at the Nasser Vocational Training Centre (NVTC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Under the MoU, signed by Shura Secretary-General, Kareema Mohammed Al-Abbasi, and the Centre’s CEO, Dr. Abdulla bin Nasser Al-Noaimi, the HH Shaikh Nasser AI Research and Development Centre will provide the Secretariat General of the Shura Council with artificial intelligence solutions and developed technologies to support its work mechanisms and achieve goals related to promoting innovation in the work environment and developing human capabilities in artificial intelligence.

Commenting, Shura Secretary-General affirmed that the signing of the MoU is in line with the Secretariat-General’s interest in achieving the aspirations of the kingdom, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on adopting and using AI technology in productive and service sectors, which will support the work of Shura members.

She also highlighted the directives of Shura Chairman, Ali bin Saleh Al-Saleh, to cooperate with national institutions and centres in the field of training and research.

Dr. Abdulla bin Nasser Al-Noaimi, indicated that the HH Shaikh Nasser AI Research and Development Centre seeks to achieve Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 with regard to integrating digital technology and its presence in the social, economic, political and other dimensions.

He added that artificial intelligence, with its various solutions, has become one of the priorities of the business environment agenda, as it is one of the pillars of digital transformation in the era of the technological revolution, and for its role in building and making public policies through data analyses to support work, improve performance, and benefit from various data analyses.

He indicated that AI will support the work of the Shura Council’s Secretariat-General with regard to monitoring the Council’s meetings and developing their outputs, as well as in archiving data.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

iGA Chief Executive praises support of HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister to Tawasul, announces launch of ‘Entity Response Evaluation” service in Tawasul system & app

Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive, Mohammed Ali Al-Qaed, praised the great support of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, towards the National Suggestions and Complaints System (Tawasul) and his continuous follow up on the performance of governmental entities in Tawasul, which has added a remarkable impact on the efficiency and productivity in the government work process.

Mr. Al Qaed said that Tawasul system has been launched by iGA in 2014, in response to the directives of HRH The Crown Prince and Prime Minister to provide a direct open communication channel for the public that supports the open-door policy in the public sector and reinforces decision-making process. Tawasul mobile App was also launched in 2016 to enhance Tawasul convenience through a range of features such as Fix2Go, and the ability to upload documents through the mobile as well as utilizing most of smartphone’s features.

with the Executive Committee directives chaired by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister to improve the quality of the governmental entities responses in Tawasul, and with the continuous support of His Excellency Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology, iGA has launched recently a new eService in Tawasul system and App “Entity Response Evaluation” which enables Tawasul user to evaluate and assess the governmental entity response received as a reply to his/ her case in Tawasul within 14 days from the entity’s response.

He pointed that the new service aims at enabling the governmental entities for continuous improvement in communication strategies with public through Tawasul. In the “Response Evaluation” service, Tawasul user will receive an SMS message with a link to view the entity response and “evaluate” it according to a pre-set criteria i.e. rating the entity’s case handling process, rating the entity’s response clarity, rating the professionality of the entity’s response and rating the ease of using Tawasul System and App. In this context, Al Qaed has invited citizens and residents, users of Tawasul, to actively rate the entity response in Tawasul for sustainable improvements.

Moreover, AlQaed praised the continuous improvements in the entities’ performance in dealing with the cases in Tawasul system and application remarking the directives of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister as demonstrated in the positive interactions with the public.

He also indicated that the launch of the new service is part of a number of improvements been planned for Tawasul (4.0) that have been launched, including Minister’s dashboard, unifying of response time-frame of all entities (SLA), and the development of Fix2Go feature, in addition to a number of new improvements that will be announced in later stages.

The Chief Executive stressed the positive interactions showcased by the entities with the public through Tawasul reflects their commitment towards the vision and aspirations of the esteemed leadership. In addition, it reflects the entities belief in the importance of the system as a tool that effectively contributes in the engagement with the public and improves the government service quality. He also stressed on the impact of the system in raising the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position regionally and internationally as one of the countries that has employed the technologies to provide innovative convenient eChannels and direct interactions with government officials, aiming at reinforcing the culture of eParticipation.

With regards to Tawasul overall statistics, Al Qaed mentioned that a total of 53 governmental entities have joined Tawasul to date, and the total cases received by the public and been handled by the entities reached to (179,421) inquiries and complaints during 2022 and (6,000) suggestions. He has also highlighted that the cases been handled by the entities with a level of commitment to Service Level Agreement (SLA) 99.3% in general and with an average of (3) days response time, reflecting the efforts toward the culture of excellence in the service performance.

iGA Chief Executive also said that iGA has received a number of suggestions during the year 2022 where many of them been implemented such as BeAware Bahrain app improvements, unified payment for the business sector through AlTajir App, and adding eKey advance registration through the (eKiosk).

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Human fraternity values fundamental in HM King’s approach: Foreign Minister

Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, has affirmed that upholding human fraternity and strengthening the bonds of love, understanding and coexistence among members of the human family despite their intellectual, religious and cultural diversity are basic national fundamentals and solid values under the wise approach of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the policies of the government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The Minister expressed his pride in celebrating the International Day of Human Fraternity on February 4, for the third consecutive year, based on the resolution of the UN General Assembly in December 2020, which unanimously approved the initiative of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to proclaim the annual global occasion.

This international occasion is based on the awareness of the importance of laying the foundations for tolerance, pluralism, and respect for religious and cultural diversity as factors that reinforce human fraternity.

Dr. Al-Zayani praised the sound human approach adopted by HM King Hamad, who established a culture of tolerance, peace, solidarity, respect for human rights, freedoms and dignity without discrimination on grounds of race, gender, language or religion, and the promotion of citizenship rights and the principles of justice, equality and human fraternity as basic pillars in the Constitution, the National Action Charter, national legislation and international covenants, in line with the Government Programme (2023-2026), the National Plan for Human Rights and the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

He commended the pioneering royal initiatives in spreading the culture of peace and tolerance at various national, regional and international levels, citing the distinguished efforts of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence and the launch of the “Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration” and its recent official launch in Europe, in addition to the signing of the “Declaration of the Abraham Principles” for inter-faith coexistence.

He also highlighted the kingdom’s hosting of international conferences for dialogue among religions and cultures, the latest of which was the Bahrain Dialogue Forum “East and West for Human Coexistence” in conjunction with the historic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, and His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif.

He also cited the establishment of the “King Hamad International Award for Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence”, the prizes launched to serve humanity, support sustainable development and empower women and youth, in addition to the establishment of the Royal Humanitarian Foundation which plays a vital role in providing relief and development assistance to the afflicted peoples.

Dr, Al-Zayani, affirmed that the Kingdom, while joining the international community in celebrating the International Day of Human Fraternity, affirms its adherence to its long-standing civilisational values, and its constitutional principles in the consecration of human rights, religious freedoms, and peaceful coexistence among all.

The minister also affirmed that the kingdom will carry on its wise foreign policy in strengthening international solidarity and partnership in establishing international relations on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in the affairs of other countries, settling disputes through diplomacy, rejecting intolerance and hatred, and promoting dialogue among cultures, civilisations and religions for a more secure, peaceful and stable world.

Source: Bahrain News Agency