the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The World Affairs Council of Houston,
with financial and logistical support from Saudi Aramco and its
Houston subsidiary Aramco Services, sponsored the travel.
This program not only benefited the educators, but also the thousands of
students they reach in their classrooms. Fourteen of the fellows were chosen
from Houston schools, including Houston Academy for International Studies,
Clear Creek High School, The Woodlands High School, and Lanier Middle
School. Educators from Dallas, Philadelphia, and Seattle were also members
of the delegation.
The ten day program featured stops in the cities of Dammam, Dhahran,
Jeddah, Khobar, and Thuwal. The fellows met with students and professors at
the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, attended briefings on
energy and the history of oil exploration at Saudi Aramco world headquarters,
and discussed culture during a boat ride along the Red Sea. Aramco carefully
planned the tour for educators to learn about many aspects of Saudi Arabia
and bring back the experiences to their classrooms.
Aramco Services public relations representative Alma Kombargi explained
that Aramco began offering trips for educators after the September 11
attacks. There was interest in Saudi Arabia and a desire to understand the
country: “We realized that there was not much written about Saudi Arabia,
so we decided to take people there and discover it for themselves.” The 2011
tour marks the first travel partnership between Aramco and the World Affairs
Council of Houston.
The highlight of the tour was the people themselves, “I look forward to
teaching my students about the kindness and warmth of the Saudi people.
Visiting a country is the best way to obtain primary source material in
order for my students to have a better understanding of other cultures,”
commented Memorial High School geography teacher Mary Reed.
The educators will teach their students and the general public about Saudi
Arabia. They will perform one in-class presentation, develop a lesson plan to
be shared with other teachers interested in Saudi Arabia, and complete two
out-of-class presentations at conferences and events.
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Chartered in 1990, the World Affairs Council is one of Houston’s most
prestigious citizen forums. Through varied and substantive programs,
the Council presents all sides of current global issues, promotes better
understanding of international relations, and contributes to national and
international policy debates. The result is a better educated citizenry and the
advancement of Houston as an important international center. Recognizing
the need to improve the quality of international education, the World Affairs
Council of Houston established Education Outreach in 1999. Today it is
nationally recognized and is a model for education programs. For more
information visit www.wachouston.org
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SmartKurve Education Services and SmartKurve (Thailand) Company Limited. Together with an expert team of Information Technology and academic veterans, her vision is to establish an institution where world class education, knowledge and innovation meet; thus the company was founded from these following principals.
Edknovate Language Institute and Edknovate (Thailand) Company Limited. Together with an expert team of Information Technology and academic veterans, her vision is to establish an institution where world class education, knowledge and innovation meet; thus the company was founded from these following principals.
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