DHAHRAN: Itra, the King Abdulaziz World Cultural Centre, concluded the fourth edition of its month-long Youth Summer Program with a grand finale on Thursday.
With iconic, vibrant and colorful seating, the closing ceremony held at the Itra cinemas featured a film screening of student works, piano performances and lively discussions on the role of AI in promoting future creativity.
From July 7th to 31st, the intensive programme gave practical exposure to 30 people, ages 13 to 18, to the art of theatre, film, music, creative writing and literature.
The curriculum is carefully curated and based on creative ways of learning. It consisted of 126 hours of educational content, 28 expert speakers and 10 specialized workshops, and included collaborations with entities such as the Architectural Design Committee and the Museum Committee.
In its fourth year this year, Ithra's Youth Summer programme is one of the Centre's flagship initiatives aimed at fostering emerging creatives in Saudi Arabia.
For 15-year-old Toleen Farea, the experience provided an invaluable opportunity to playfully explore her interests in a streamlined way.
“The programme covers many cultural disciplines and featured new experts and topics each day, like history,” Faaa told Arab News. “The cinema section was my favorite. I made a movie from scratch using a professional camera and a microphone.
“I was shy about theatres and acting, but being with my peers felt natural to be around, and it was my first time meeting many other participants,” she said.
“The experience was really amazing. I felt it was good to go outside the school setting and meet new people.
Fahad al-Katani, 15, from Dhammam, agreed.
“The program is cultural and honestly, the experience was really beautiful,” he told Arab News. “It introduced me to so many areas, from museums and libraries to studio designs, and I spent my vacation doing things that were really fun and meaningful.
“It wasn't just about learning from others. I also had the opportunity to turn my ideas into real life, rather than following other people's concepts,” he added.
“One of the activities we did was pottery. We connected it to architecture and design. A way to repair broken pottery and turn it into something beautiful again. It was inspired by Japanese technology.
“At the time I made a simple video on my mobile phone. I created a small one to post online to Tiktok, and this program gave me real filmmaking skills. It taught me the basics of cinematography, lighting, sound and editing.
“We also worked on the films we present today. I directed it. It's about social issues: repetition and everyday,” he said. “I don't want to ruin the ending, but the message is to be free from everyday life before you lock you in. The film is only three minutes long, but I hope it will make people think.
“Five films were made, each had their own directors. I only directed one of them. I'm the director now,” he said with pride.
Following the film, Ithra held a special panel discussion featuring Mansour Al-Badran, the Saudi Film Festival, held at Ithra earlier this spring. Al-Badran spoke in person with the young director. He provided encouragement, shared professional insights from the Kingdom's growing cinema scene, and asked students thoughtful questions about the creative process and the challenges they faced while filming.
Most of the students who featured the show on stage were natural speakers, but some were a little nervous, and the audience warmly applauded when it temporarily frozen. Most of the programming was in Arabic, but some English was scattered.
Zaina Hejles, who attended last year when she was 14, returned this summer wearing a light blue vest with the word “volunteer.”
She told Arab News: “Through this closing ceremony today, we look forward to a summary of everything that has happened throughout this month, everything that students were really working hard on is featured today.
Looking back on last year, she said: “My focus was on acting. I was the grandma of the play. It was an interpretation of a Japanese book (author Kawaguchi's Kawaguchi's Kawaguchi's), “before the coffee gets cold.” It was just a little play on how you should taste your time and how you should taste your time, and how life moves quickly, as you must cherish it.
“I actually enjoy every part, every part this program has to offer – from acting to writing to music. That's why I decided to join. “After that, I created a deep, deep connection with so many people. I also found out I like things I didn't know I like. I didn't think I was this good at writing.
“This program really brings out things among young people who didn’t know they had.
“In fact, it was my mom's idea to be involved last year. I didn't want to do anything. I wanted to spend time at home like other teenagers, but she said, 'What are you going to do at home, are you just sitting on your phone?' I was like, 'Yes, exactly',” she said.
“But I'm honestly so happy I've been there. I'm even more pleased that they (ithra) came back for me for the second time and asked me to come volunteer.”
The curriculum is repeated so students can only register once. Many people – like hedgere, choose to return as a volunteer. Both far and Arcatani hope for next summer.
