DUBAI: With 2019 coming to an end, we take a look at the top-trending Google searches in Saudi Arabia. The most searched of the year was Future Gate. Over a year ago, the Ministry of Education introduced the Future Gate initiative with the aim of promoting digital learning in schools. The scheme involves distributing iPads to students and teachers and encouraging more technology-enabled study. The program expanded to an additional 1,500 schools and represented the first step toward the Saudi government’s goal of eliminating all textbooks in schools. Among the top searched is Jadarah – meaning ability – which is a five-month intensive training and learning experience offered to graduates. It was founded to foster and nurture the new wave of digital innovators and entrepreneurs from the Arab world. In its first edition, the program attracted industry giants such as Google, Twitter, Amadeus, Facebook, Step and Udacity. Sports content was another popular search, with Google statistics showing a high interest in the Saudi Professional League. Video watching of the football league’s events and news generated more than 115 million views and recorded more than 360 million hits on the accounts of Saudi sports channels on Twitter during the first two months of the league. With Saudi Arabia reaching the final stages of the Gulf Cup, held in Qatar from Nov. 24 to Dec. 6, the tournament was among the top-five searched topics in Saudi Arabia in 2019.