11th March, UAE: Students from Omar Bin Al Khattab Model School, Dubai will join students from across the Middle East and the UK in London next week (Sunday 14 March 2010) to debate global issues and build greater understanding between the two regions.

In London they will meet pupils from their UK partner school Long Eaton School, Derbyshire at a one-day Global Citizenship conference organised by the British Council's Connecting Classrooms Programme.

The four Omar Bin Al Khattab Model School students and one teacher are travelling to the UK as one of winners of the British Council's ‘I'm a Global Citizen' competition held last autumn in the Middle East under its Connecting Classrooms programme, for its presentation on Global Citizenship.

Following the youth conference at the British Council's headquarters, the Emirati students and teacher will spend four days in Derbyshire learning more about life in UK schools and local communities and raising awareness and understanding about life in UAE.

They will be joined in the UK by 80 students from schools across England and Northern Ireland and 5 other competition winning schools from Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia who are all involved in the international school linking scheme.

During the youth conference the students will have the opportunity to discuss key global issues such as climate change and globalisation. The event aims to encourage cross-cultural dialogue, build stronger links between young people in different countries and encourage them to think about their role in a global society.

Mr Galal Saleh Hassan, teacher of Omar Bin Al Khattab Model School said: “My students are very much looking forward to travelling to the UK. We will now get an opportunity to meet the teachers and students at our partner school. I am grateful to the British Council for providing us with such a wonderful opportunity”.

Since their Connecting Classrooms partnership was formed in 2006, the students and teachers at the schools in UAE and UK have been working together on classroom-based projects such as sharing of culture and heritage and projects based on the environment. These projects aim to broaden pupils' and teachers' international horizons, increase motivation in the classroom and help young people develop the skills and understanding they need for life in a global society. Through learning about their partners' lives and culture, pupils and teachers also learn about their own communities, heritage and identity.

Amy Cottage, Regional Education Project Manager at the British Council Middle East, said: ‘This will be a fantastic occasion for students from across the Middle East and the UK to debate the issues together that affect them all as future global citizens. It should stimulate a fascinating discussion about major issues such as the environment and globalisation from the perspective of young people growing up in different parts of the world.

‘Together with the time they will spend with students at their UK partner schools, this trip to the UK will provide our Middle East competition winners and the UK students with a real first-hand insight into each other's lives. This will help them develop skills and cultural awareness to be able to make a positive contribution to our global society.'