Sony and Modern Electronics initiates Science Award in Saudi Arabia

Teaming up with Sony Gulf FZE and the Ministry of Education in Riyadh, the Sony Creative Science Award will help promote creativity among children and aims to reach out to students from all over the Kingdom.

Speaking at the press conference held today to announce the launch of the Sony Creative Science Award, HRH Prince Mohammed K. A. Al Faisal, AFG Group President said, "The partnership with the Ministry of Education will play an important role in the success of this event. Using Sony's expertise and hands-on experience of conducting these workshops, we are confident that this Award will go a long way in nurturing and educating the students in basic applications of science".

The Sony Creative Science Award was initiated by the Sony Group of companies in Singapore in July 1998 and since then it has become one of the most popular competitions among schools in Singapore. This award solely aims to promote creativity in children and help make science learning fun and interesting. In this programme, children from different schools are invited to create a toy which demonstrates at least one scientific principle.

"Sony strongly believes that science, technology and creativity are important elements in building a knowledge-based society", said Mr. Masahiro Tamura, managing director, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific. "The Sony Creative Science Award is another example of Sony's commitment towards encouraging students to discover science and explore their capabilities through innovative creations".

"With the growing success of the Sony Creative Science Award in the Pan-Asia region, it's only fair that we extend this project to the students of Saudi Arabia and with the help of the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia and our partners at Modern Electronics we hope to that this project is as successful as our counterparts in Singapore, Malaysia and other countries" commented Mr. Tamura.

Speaking at the press conference, shaikh Ali Al Wazrah, Manager, General Directorate for the Patronage of Gifted Students from the ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia said, "It's my pleasure that our national private companies and establishments are contributing to the special educational programmes and activities for sponsoring our young talents.

Believing in the sublime message of sponsoring talents, Modern Electronics Company has started the Sony Creative Science Award, in its own way of supporting innovativeness and creativity in our young students".

The Sony Creative Science Award comprises of several components, the initial pre-workshops for students and teachers, the actual competition and finally the prize distribution ceremony. An added attraction for the participating students will be the science shows held during the prize distribution ceremony, conducted by the renowned Japanese scientist Mr. Yonemura.

Following today's announcement, the programme kicks off with the initial training of the teachers on the 12th of February 2005. This training is followed by the workshops, which will be conducted simultaneously in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam on the 5th and 14th of March 2005. The students have a deadline of the 7th and 8th of May 2005 to submit their scientific created toys. Post the initial screening of the toys, the final screening and the selection of the prize winners will be on the 28th and 30th of May 2005. The prize distribution ceremony is scheduled for the 18th of June 2005.