RIYADH: The Saudi Youth Society in partnership with the Al-Nahda Society on Sunday hosted the Qiyadiat event, celebrating women’s talents and empowering youths. The event consisted of panel discussions between businesswomen, athletes, and creatives and featured a marketplace highlighting the work of small businesses owned by young entrepreneurs. Giving the opening remarks of the event was Hamad bin Majed Al-Owaishiq, founder and chairman of the Saudi Youth Society. “Qiyadat celebrates successful examples within the fields of creativity, entrepreneurship, and sports. This event comes not only at a special time during our beloved country, but it also coincides with the holy month of Ramadan and Women’s History Month,” he said. Al-Owaishiq expressed how it has been a beneficial experience to host the event alongside the Al-Nahda Society with their 60 years of experience. “It’s been a pleasure celebrating female leaders that have made an impact on the fields that we are focusing on today — creativity, entrepreneurship, and sports,” he told Arab News. “Our main goal at the Saudi Youth Society is to support young leaders of the future, the leaders that will be responsible for our Saudi tomorrow.” Princess Nourah Al-Faisal, who serves as vice chairwoman of the Saudi Youth Society, expressed her pride in seeing the dedication of the youth. “To see such commitment and such community feeling in this young generation — it’s really something amazing,” she told Arab News. “Hamad and his team are inspirational in terms of what they are committed to doing,” she said. Speaking during the creativity and entrepreneurship panel was Dr. Ghadah Al-Harthi, associate professor at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London; Anwar Al-Shammari, a partner at White and Case; and Princess Loulwa bint Yazeed Al-Saud, founder of GoTrend. During the session, the panel members discussed topics including work-life balance and approaching careers with the right mentality. “I think if someone wants to find their place on a global stage it starts from the mindset,” Al-Harthi said. She shared the advice that her uncle gave her: “Don’t say, ‘I want to be the best person in this meeting room or this panel in this room today.’ Don’t say, ‘I want to be competitive on a local level,’ but think on an international level.” She also stressed the importance of building human capital through education and training. The session also touched upon how policymakers can create an ecosystem that fosters innovation and creativity. Closing the first session, Princess Loulwa stressed that failure can be a positive experience on the road to success. The second panel of the event on sports featured Princess Mishael bint Faisal Al-Saud, head of the women’s committee at the Arab Cycling Federation, and Rasha Al-Khamis, vice president of the Saudi Arabian Boxing Federation. Princess Mishael expressed her hope to see sports scholarships in universities, highlighting that they would afford people the opportunity to view sports as a career and a lifestyle, not just an activity. She highlighted the importance of factors including community and competition in building a thriving sports scene and concluded by encouraging the audience to “just keep going” and “put yourself out there.” Al-Khamis also left the audience with closing words of inspiration: “Now is the best time to dream and to be a part of a bigger dream in Saudi Arabia.”