'Joint Program Production' Prepares to Launch First 'With Gulf Students' Competition in Kuwait

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Common Production Program Organization announced the commencement of its preparations to launch the inaugural edition of the student competition “With Gulf Students” in Kuwait, in collaboration with Al-Futtaim Group, following the approval and endorsement of the initiative by GCC ministers of education at their recent meeting, and in coordination with the GCC Secretariat General.

In a statement to KUNA yesterday, the organization said the initiative aims to enhance Gulf media and educational cooperation through a competitive platform that brings together students from GCC member states, thereby reinforcing a shared Gulf identity and fostering a spirit of knowledge, creativity, and positive competition among emerging generations.

The organization’s Director General, Sheikh Mubarak Fahad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, stated in the announcement that hosting the “With Gulf Students” project aligns with the organization’s strategic direction toward launching sustainable media initiatives targeting Gulf youth and contributing to strengthening their shared culture and identity. He added that the competition serves as an educational and media platform to deepen bonds of fraternity and Gulf cohesion, and to promote positive competition and rapprochement among the young generations of GCC countries.

He expressed his hope that “With Gulf Students” would become a sustainable annual Gulf project, forming the nucleus for broader media and educational initiatives, while reaffirming the organization’s commitment to nurturing creative initiatives and enhancing partnerships with the private sector to contribute to the development of purposeful Gulf media content and serve future generations.

For her part, Sheikhah Ahood Salem Al-Ali, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Al-Futtaim Group, expressed her pride in this strategic partnership with the Common Production Program Organization, praising its pioneering role in hosting, developing, and advancing purposeful media and educational initiatives at the Gulf level. She emphasized that launching “With Gulf Students” represents a qualitative leap in the program’s trajectory, extending the success of its Kuwaiti experience (“With Students”) and embodying Al-Futtaim Group’s vision of transforming successful national initiatives into sustainable Gulf-wide projects.

She added that true investment in the future of our homelands begins with investing in the potential of our youth, noting that the success of the “With Students” program in Kuwait served as a catalyst to expand this experience into a Gulf platform uniting students from all GCC member states under the umbrella of knowledge, creativity, and positive competition, thereby opening broader horizons for excellence and achievement.

The Common Production Program Organization and Al-Futtaim Group expressed their sincere gratitude and deepest appreciation to GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Budaiwi and Kuwait’s Minister of Education, Engineer Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabaei, for their continuous support of the “With Gulf Students” initiative since its inception as an idea, and for their backing of the efforts leading to the final approval of the program and its endorsement by GCC ministers of education.

They also commended the constructive cooperation and positive role played by the Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf Countries, represented by its leadership, whose interest and collaboration contributed to supporting the “With Gulf Students” initiative, facilitating its procedures, and paving the way for its success, thereby embodying the spirit of integration and joint Gulf action.