Ras Al Khaimah, UAE – 27 Feb. 16: His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah today opened the John Smith Trust Ras Al Khaimah Colloquium at the Al Hamra Convention Centre. The opening was attended by Baroness Ashton, chair designate of the Trust and former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; the British Ambassador, Mr Philip Parham; Baroness Smith of the Trust; the Regional Director of the British Council, Mr Adrian Chadwick; Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Zaabi, Second Deputy Speaker of FNC and Ahmad Yousuf Mohammad Darwish Al Noaimi, member of FNC.
The Ras Al Khaimah event is an introductory one for the 24 new associate fellows joining the fellowship from the six GCC states. It consists of a series of workshops, lectures, induction sessions and networking events linked to the themes of the John Smith Trust, which revolve around good governance, the rule of law and leadership. Associate fellows are chosen by the Trust and must meet the criteria of being under 35 and already in a leadership position. There are over four hundred fellows already within the Trust’s network, but this is the first time that the programme has been extended to the GCC states.
Following the colloquium, the new associate fellows will travel to the UK in order to participate for a planned itinerary from the 7th to the 16th March that includes time at St Andrews and Oxford universities as well as meetings in London. During the programme they will meet members of the judiciary, parliamentarians, academics and other experts in order to engage in discussions, workshops and lectures on the topics on which the John Smith Trust focusses.
