A Prince in the Tower!

One of the winners, posing for photographs with Federation President, Hilary-Kay Young and an official from the Women's Section of the Royal Saudi Arabian embassy. Centre is Terry Waite, who presented the prizes.

The children, their families and their teachers were invited by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Britain, Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf Bin Abdul Aziz, to an award-giving ceremony, where the humanitarian author and former hostage Terry Waite presented each winner with £250 - and their schools also received £500 each.

In a joint project between the Saudi Arabian Embassy and Soroptimist International, children in years 3 to 9 at British and Saudi schools across the country were asked to express through words or art what they thought their life would be like as a desert creature. The writing entries were judged by author Aeronwy Thomas, daughter of Dylan Thomas, and Philip Madoc, Actor, and Beryl Bainbridge, author read out the winning story. The art entries were judged by Professor Falconbridge from the Royal College of Art – and were framed and hung on the walls in the Tower.

In an exercise designed to promote good will and multicultural understanding, the children were given the theme of “My life as a desert creature…” and had to choose between My Life as a Camel, My Life as a Vulture, and My Life as a Rattlesnake. The entries will be published in a book that will be sold to benefit Soroptimist and Saudi charities.