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�Educating for the Future� at
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, December 7, 2006
Dean Slaughter, thank you for that kind introduction.
This is our way of getting back into Princeton, where I briefly
spent some of my misspent youth. I am glad to be here again at
this prestigious university. My brother, Foreign Minister
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, got his degree here in 1965, as did his son
Khalid in 1994. He always speaks highly of his time here.
I also hold fond memories of the late Professor Hitti with whom my
brothers and I had weekly classed in Arabic, at his home, while we
attended school at Hun and Lawrenceville.
My father, the late King Faisal, and my mother, the late Queen
Effat, were very keen about ensuring that their children receive
the best education. Naturally, a school such as Princeton
was top on his list. At that time, there were not any
colleges of this distinction in the Kingdom. We were still
emerging from a nomadic society into modernization. So they
were also very adamant about seeing that Saudi Arabia could
someday provide its children, boys and girls, with a first-rate
education.
During his last interview on American television, King Faisal
said that he hoped that in the future Saudi Arabia would become a
wellspring of understanding, culture and knowledge � not just
for the Arab and Muslim world � but for all of humanity.
Even though King Faisal passed away some 30 years ago, his hope
for Saudi Arabia is the legacy of his family and it carries on.
Shortly after his passing, my brothers and sisters and I
founded the King Faisal Foundation to invest in education as he
would have wanted. The foundation has made many
contributions in three decades. Many of its programs have
come to great fruition. Today, along with several
international partners, including Americans, we are in the process
of establishing the first truly multi-funded private,
non-profit Saudi university in science and technology.
Al-Faisal University, as it is known, was formally chartered in
2004 and is scheduled to open in 2007. This will be nothing
less than a world-class, multi-national university to educate the
next generation of Saudi leaders with an international curriculum.
When my mother died six years ago, she left behind the first
privately funded nonprofit college for women in Saudi Arabia,
Effat College. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the future of
Saudi Arabia.
Today, we are making investments in education to bring our
citizens to the forefront of the global community. This is
our goal, and what I would like to share with you today.
It goes without saying that Saudi Arabia is blessed with oil,
but we recognize that it is a finite resource. We know our
best and infinite resource is our people, and to diversify our
economy and improve the quality of life of our citizens, we need
to educate and train our youth in new areas where they can
develop, grow and innovate.
King Abdullah wants our citizens to make the types of
contributions to humanity that the Arab world once did during its
Golden Age. In fields such as astronomy, mathematics,
agriculture, medicine and architecture, Arab scholars once
provided the world with advances that form many of the
underpinnings of the modern age.
For Saudi Arabia, there is certainly work ahead, but we have
solid foundation, because we have already come a long way from the
days when the Kingdom had few, if any schools as you would know
them today.
I know when the late King Faisal and my mother Queen Effat had
children, they realized, as their children grew up, that they
wanted them to have a good education. They desired for their
children an education that was beyond what was considered
acceptable at the time, which was at the traditional local schools
throughout the Kingdom. Instead, they decided to build a
school that would not only be for their children, but would be for
the children of the society in general.
So in 1942, my parents built a school in Taif, a city in the
mountains in Saudi Arabia, which, when I attended, had a plaque at
the top of the entrance that said: �The Model School for Boys
and Girls.� As you can imagine, this was quite a
revolutionary step in Saudi Arabia in those days.
Regrettably, I must admit that I did not graduate from the Model
School of Taif. I was shipped off at age 14 to continue my
studies here in America at a boarding school here in New Jersey
� Lawrenceville, I�m sure some of you are familiar with it.
I recall that a year after I left in 1959, the Model School in
Taif moved to Jeddah, where new modern facilities were
constructed. I�ll never forget when the late Queen Effat
and the late King Faisal were looking over the plans of the new
school, which included a planetarium � this did not even exist
in any of the universities in the Middle East at that time � and
I was telling myself, if they are building the school here so
well, why are they shipping me off to America?
What my parents wanted for me then � a world-class education
and exposure to and an understanding of the diversity of the world
� is exactly what the Saudi government wants for its citizens
now. We have committed to three critical steps to ensure
this.
First, Saudi Arabia is upgrading its own educational system.
The Kingdom is reviewing all of its education practices and
materials, and is removing any element that is inconsistent with
the needs of a modern education. Not only are we eliminating
what might be perceived as intolerance from old textbooks that
were in our system, but we are implementing a comprehensive
internal revision and modernization plan. New curricula
emphasize critical thinking, math, and science, and these
curricula also emphasize the teaching of true Islamic values.
They also stress the positive skills necessary for good
citizenship and productivity. They teach how to safeguard
peace, the environment, health and human rights.
In every level of education � from grade school, to high
school to college � the government has gone so far as to sponsor
lectures that promote moderation and tolerance. Even
kindergartners are made aware of the importance of tolerance and
peace.
Education, of course, does not end with schooling, and these
messages further extend to society as a whole. There are messages
promoting peace on ATM receipts, billboards, signs at sporting
events, and even on radio and television programming. These
are all dedicated to informing our citizens that intolerance,
violence and extremism are not a part of our Islamic faith or
Saudi culture, and heritage and traditions.
There is no place for intolerance in a world where cooperation
is the only key to success. This is why we are taking steps
to ensure our education system keeps pace with the demands of our
citizens, our economy, and those of the world community.
Second, Saudi Arabia is heavily investing in its educational
system to prepare its citizens for life and work in a modern,
global economy. For 2006, Saudi Arabia allocated 26 percent
of the state budget to general and higher education, as well as to
technical and vocational training. Over the next five years, the
Kingdom will be building some 2,600 new schools, 50 new technical
colleges, and more than 100 training institutes to prepare Saudis
for the Kingdom�s recent accession to the World Trade
Organization. This is in addition to a number of new
universities being built.
Preparing our workforce for the opportunities and challenges
ahead is the purpose of many new government programs. The
Ministry of Labor, for example, has been conducting forums to
facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience between
professionals and those responsible for the development of human
resources. Professional development opportunities are also
expanding for women who actually graduate in larger numbers from
college and graduate schools than their male counterparts.
Women are an important part of Saudi society, and they are
becoming an increasingly critical part of Saudi economic
development. In fact, women now have been elected onto the
boards of professional organizations, including the Saudi
Engineers Council, the Saudi Journalists Association, and the
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I know where they
will go next. These women, who have the support of their
peers and communities, are reaching new levels every day.
They will not only run us at home but they will also guide and
direct us in public life. I am certain that they will do a
better job than men have done so far.
And third, ladies and gentlemen, Saudi Arabia is taking steps
to broaden the horizons of its citizens and emphasize the value of
cultural exchange. An ancient Arab proverb says: �What is
learned in youth is carved in stone.� This applies to the
values by which we make our most basic decisions in life, as well
as to how we work with our neighbors when issues arise among us.
As you may know, King Abdullah has launched a student
scholarship program aimed at impacting this concept at the most
basic level � human interaction. Saudi students are being
sent to attend colleges and universities abroad to learn, make
friends, and experience foreign cultures. The Saudi
government has already offered more than 10,000 students full
four-year scholarships, with most coming to the United States.
Saudi Arabia has long been successful with building
relationships this way. For more than 60 years we�ve had a
mutually beneficial relationship, and I proudly say that it has
been a relationship of people to people. Over the years,
literally hundreds of thousands of Saudis have traveled to the
United States seeking education or health care, to conduct
business or simply to visit. This has made all the
difference in bridging the gaps of understanding between our
cultures when difficulties have arisen. As well, thousands
of Americans have traveled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to live
and to work there.
When taken together, these three steps form the basis of a
world-class education. We�re promoting cooperation.
We�re giving our citizens the tools and knowledge to succeed.
And we�re letting our youth explore the world and form
friendships that will benefit them down the road.
If our citizens possess the skills and understanding to compete
effectively with their global peers, then they will be active
contributors to the global community. They will be promoters
of peace and tolerance throughout the world.
And perhaps then we will become the wellspring of
understanding, education and culture for humanity that we aspire
to be.
Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much.
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