The winners of a talent competition aimed at enhancement of fashion and embroidery industry and development of fashion sense among Saudi girls were handed over their awards at a function at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) premises here on Saturday. Around 100 Saudi girls from across the Kingdom participated in the contest organized in cooperation with JCCI's Textile Commission in July last year. Ten winners were awarded from a cash prize worth SR150,000, ten portable computers and free training at the Nesma Training Center. An embroidery machine worth SR30,000 and two others worth SR15,000 constituted the first, second and third prizes, respectively. Yousef bin Ahmed Kharraz, executive director and advisor of the Council of Business Development, said he plans to organize the event on a yearly basis “to enhance the talent and training of Saudi girls”. The competition is part of a major project that is yet to be announced, which centers on the development and revival of the garment industry in Makkah. The commission seeks to achieve 30,000 jobs in areas of sewing, embroidery and designing. “The most important objectives of the competition are to train Saudi girls with the help of new technology and to open new areas of operation that focus primarily on women's concerns,” said Mohammad Al-Shahri, general supervisor of the contest. He said the commission seeks to “cooperate with those who provide opportunities for the modern and practical training of Saudi girls in disciplines which are compatible with the values of modern society”. Al-Shahri estimated the monthly import of the Saudi textile market at SR2 billion annually. “Because the proportion of domestic investment in this area is very weak, the JCCI has planned several programs to promote it,” he said. The winners include: Azhar Ali Al-Ghamdi (Baha), Madiha Mohammed Siame (Makkah), Halima Ahmed Hindi (Jizan), Shahad Al-Thabaiti (Makkah), Tahani Mohammed Al-Jabar (Asir), Fatma Mohammed Al-Baseer (Riyadh), Muna Abdul Hamed Al-Mutrafi (Madina), Nasreen Abdulmalik Qasim (Makkah), Ahood Rajh (Makkah) and Abeer Tubaiti (Makkah).
