Saudi- Schoolchildren elated over Qur'an competition success 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Secondary school students Bakar Abdul Rahman Bakar and Inas Al-Bar have bagged first prizes in the Holy Qur'an Memorization Competition held as part of the Second Makkah Youth Forum.

A total of 48 qualified boys and girls from various schools in the Makkah province participated in the final round.

Separate competitions for boys and girls were held at the King Fahd Coastal City and the King Faisal Hall of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah.

Among the boys, Bakar from Abi Zaid Al-Ansari Secondary School in Makkah won the first prize in the category of memorization of the Holy Qur'an in full while Abdul Aziz bin Nazeeh Al-Hakami from Zubair bin Al-Awam Intermediate School in Makkah secured first prize in the category of memorization of 15 parts of the holy book.

Among the girls, Inas Al-Bar from the 4th Secondary School for the Memorization of the Holy Qur'an in Jeddah bagged first prize in the category of memorization in full while Safa Qutub from the 6th Intermediate School for the Memorization of the Holy Qur'an in Makkah won first prize in the category of memorization of 15 parts of the holy book.

Speaking to Arab News, Inas and Safwa expressed their delight at winning the competition.

"The three-member judging panel was highly cooperative and supportive, enabling participants to take part in the event in ease and relaxation," said Al-Bar.

Safa commended organizers of the event for the smooth conduct of the competitions, which were held in three phases.

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal formally launched the final round of competitions on March 27, during which he honored organizers and sponsors of the event.

In the final round, there were 20 competitions in the fields of culture, education, science, tourism, recreation and sports. These included Qur'an recitation and memorization, poetry, innovation, photography, plastic arts, wall painting, football, basketball, and table tennis.

Venues of the competitions were Jeddah sports stadium, King Abdulaziz University, King Fahd Coastal City, Youth Welfare Presidency Hall, Markaz Abruq Al-Rugama, and a tent on Jeddah Corniche.

Some 300,000 intermediate and secondary school students from 11 regions of Makkah province had participated in the preliminary round of local-level competitions. Of them, 800 boys and girls qualified to take part in the month-long final round.

The Makkah governorate was organizing the youth forum for the second year in a row with the objective of developing the skills of Saudi youths and boosting their cultural and sporting capabilities. The governorate also aims to discover talented young people and encourages youth to fill their free time with constructive activities.

The governorate organized the first Makkah Youth Forum in April 2011 and it received very good participation and tremendous support from various departments and agencies in both the government and private sectors.