| ||
|
AMMAN (JT) - Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday urged university students in Cairo to look beyond themselves and find inspiration in the principles of civic engagement to work towards the good of their communities and transform the future of the Middle East.
Delivering an address at the American University in Cairo (AUC) from which she graduated, Her Majesty underscored the value of civic engagement, reminding attendees that volunteering time and effort to a social cause enriches the lives of those who choose to work for the collective good.
“Often, social progress doesn’t come from governments looking down, directing change. It comes from communities, families and individuals looking up, driving society forward themselves, fuelled by nothing more than an idea or instinct to do good. It comes from civic engagement,” she told over 1,000 students.
Queen Rania, who firmly believes that young people have the potential to drive social change, also highlighted the need to reignite this spark in youths across the region, stressing that more needs to be done, not only in schools and universities, but across the board, for the sake of the region’s common future.
“I’m tired of the Middle East being perceived as a fractious, fragmented region, when we’re renowned for our loving devotion to our families… when our culture is built on a foundation of compassion and charity,” Her Majesty said, highlighting the importance of uniting around the principles of civic engagement.
Encouraging the students to direct their energy, talents and creativity towards the greater good, Queen Rania called on them to set change in motion.
She also encouraged universities to integrate public service into their curricula and commended the AUC’s efforts in helping Egypt scale up civic engagement by putting a premium on community service, thus allowing social practice to stand alongside academic theory.
“We need more schools to give credit for community service the same as coursework so the value of volunteering reaches all students. We need more students to recognise the value of civic engagement - both in terms of what it can do to our communities, and also what it can do for each one of you,” she added.
Queen Rania then told students the story of AUC graduate Raghda, who established Alashanek ya Balady, an organisation that encourages students to help lift local families out of poverty.
Her Majesty pointed out that Raghda’s motivation to set up the NGO was spurred by a brief encounter she had as a 12-year-old, with an elderly woman living on the outskirts of Cairo.
The Egyptian girl met the woman, who lived with seven children in a house with four bare walls and no floor, during a school field trip.
When Raghda stepped into the house, continued Queen Rania, Um Fathy greeted her with a warm smile, invited her to sit beside her, then asked about her life and what was valuable to her.
Raghda told the woman she missed the cool air of her AC at home, and spoke of her toys, clothes and most prized possessions.
At the end of their conversation, Her Majesty noted, Um Fathy said: “Is that all you have?” Ragdha nodded timidly and the woman then asked her to “look up”.
Queen Rania paused, then smiled and said: “When Raghda looked up, she saw the sky, the house had no ceiling.”
Concluding the story, the Queen explained that Raghda’s experience is symbolic of the need to ignite civic engagement among youths.
“It is an allegory teaching us that civic engagement is about looking outside the four walls of your life, about looking up and seeing you have no ceiling above you, that you have no limits. It shows us that there’s more to life than possessions; that true value in this world lies in people.”
As she continued to inspire the AUC student body to make a difference, aiming at an infinite sky of possibilities and potential, she added: “Whatever it is, you can be the spark, the one who sets change in motion. And together, you can be the generation who looks up, reaches out and lifts our region. Let this be your AUC legacy.”
Queen Rania also took the opportunity to tell the students about Ahel Al Himmeh, the Queen Rania Award for Community Champions launched in 2009 to recognise individuals or groups who have served their communities in outstanding ways... READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment