A group of Arab students present Queen Rania with a message to the youth of the world

(Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah-Press Department)In a gesture of outreach to the world's youth and in recognition of the common human values that bind us as a 'global family', a group of Arab youth, on Tuesday, presented Her Majesty with a message in a bottle to carry through to the youth of the world.

At the conclusion of a 2-day INJAZ regional workshop, students drafted the following message: "Dear young people of the world; we are the young people of the Arab World; we want to extend the bridges among us, East and West, young and old. We want us all to feel that we are part of this big family 'The Global Family'. We share these values that always connect us, so let us celebrate our diversity."

The participants, from Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates shared with Queen Rania a summary of their two day discussion, which highlighted the common values that youth share, not only in the region, but across the world. Students also shared with the Queen their personal experiences and thoughts on the importance of values, and community and global outreach and dialogue.

Her Majesty lauded their efforts and noted that their energy and commitment is a source of inspiration for all. Following on the student's discussion, Queen Rania underlined the importance of human values and their role in personal growth and achievement. She further highlighted the need keep an open mind to change, in what is now a rapidly evolving world.

Referring to the widening gap between cultures and communities around the world and the impact of terrorism on the image of Islam, the Queen said that "the majority must not be silent", and that it is our responsibility as Arabs to speak up and communicate the true values of our culture and Islam to the rest of the world.

Her Majesty further underlined the importance of youth networks such as INJAZ in building bridges of understanding with youth around the world, noting that "our commonalities outweigh our differences", and communicated her confidence in the ability of youth to effect change: "you are the tools of change, and change must start from within."

INJAZ for the Creation of Economics Opportunities for Jordanian Youth is project funded by USAID, and it is considered a unique project that was launched by Save the Children in 1999. With Jordan as a model, Egypt and Lebanon launched INJAZ in 2003. Following in late 2004, Bahrain was the first GCC country to participate. The West Bank, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE launched programs in 2005.

With Queen Rania as Regional Ambassador, INJAZ al-Arab will be introduced to the rest of the Arab World over the next two years.