A learning experience

PEACE campaigning teenager Samar Jaffar has been scaling new heights in her determined bid to help bring young people together in a world of harmony and understanding.

She attended a special workshop for Young Leaders in Democratic Governance in the MENA region staged in the beautiful floating city of Venice in Italy.

Samar, 18, was joined by Hussain Abdullah, 20 - the only two participants from Bahrain in a group of 22 from the region.

The workshop was sponsored by European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC).

"After the workshop I learned that democracy cannot be exported or imported but can definitely be supported and that democracy is a basic element for a human being to survive," she told GulfWeekly.

Samar first came into the spotlight as a result of the People to People International (PTPI) Peace Camp in Cairo last year where she was the sole representative from Bahrain.

She says her recent visit to Venice has enriched her with another learning experience. Although a finance and business student at Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), the workshop has enabled Samar to become increasingly aware about different types of democracies in the Arab world.

Samar, along with her full-time job as a recruitment consultant at Gulf Connexions and her ongoing business studies, plans to enrol in a volunteer programme funded by Arab World Project to create awareness among the young about democracy and human rights.

For Hussain the workshop has also been an eye-opener. A Political Science and International Relations student at AMA University in Bahrain the workshop has provided a totally new perspective to Hussain from an expert's point of view.

"Our lecturers were professionals working for the UN and international NGOs and their talks created a lot of awareness among us. The workshop was also an ideal opportunity to exchange ideas about democracy and the experience will benefit me in terms of work opportunities when I have completed my degree," he said.