Swapping Cultures

27 September 2010
four boys making a piece of art

Minorities of Europe CC | Europe Region

Should “Dr. Who” be a heart or a diamond? How about the Suffragettes? These were the dilemmas facing a group of British youth at the second Two Kingdoms Youth Forum in Saudia Arabia. In collaboration with their Saudi peers, they were designing a deck of playing cards to introduce young Brits to Saudi culture and vice versa. The Saudis took clubs and spades to go with images of the Arabian Desert, traditional dress and an Arabian coffee pot. And while the Saudis steered clear of sensitive topics like royalties and religion, the Queen of England and the Durham Cathedral made the cut. The cards were one of several projects developed during a week of intercultural dialogue and action organized by URI Cooperation Circle Minorities of Europe in partnership with the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and others. The 48 youth participants traveled together between Jeddah and Riyadh, sharing their passions, values and ideas, and devising novel ways to build lasting grassroots links between these two distant cultures.