A DELEGATION from King Salman Youth Center, composed of an elite group of young talents and potentials representing the Kingdom, recently embarked on an enriching trip to France.

Eight young men and women with much varied backgrounds and sets of talents, skills and knowledge were meticulously chosen, thus creating a unique diversity among the members of the delegation and a chance for mutual learning from each others.

The visit began on Monday morning with a visit to Station F, one of the largest business incubators for startups. The team took a guided tour to get to know all the startups that were part of the station and discovered how a high number of leading companies, including Amazon, Facebook and many others, constantly offer all types of support to these startups. This visit was a great experience that allowed the team to explore the huge amount of opportunities available for small and ambitious enterprises.

The delegation then moved to Thales, a multinational company that designs and delivers extraordinary high technology solutions tapping into aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets, aiming to make people's lives easier and safer. Thales serves many countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

One of the most crucial services provided by the company to the Kingdom is the face recognition technology during the Haj season to help identify people through their facial traits, as the name suggests.

During the visit, much has been explained about digital security and how social networking sites are tracked to predict terrorist plots before they take place through gathering and analyzing data.

What distinguishes Thales the most is it channels about a quarter of its annual profits into research.

With a deal with the Kingdom, the company has activated 6,500 cameras during the last Haj season for a detailed security surveillance with high definition images. The company also worked on the Mashaer train project that transports pilgrims between the holy sites of Mina and Arafat.

The delegation ended the activities of the day with a visit to the "Incense Route" exhibition held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, organized by the MISK Foundation.

The event was attended by the secretary-general of MISK Foundation, Bader Al-Assaker, as well as Saudi Ambassador to France Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari and Executive Director of MISK ART initiative Dr. Ahmed Matar, in addition to a number of diplomats and artistic figures. The delegation also met with Secretary-General of King Salman Youth Center Hani Al-Muqbel.

On Tuesday, the delegation traveled to Toulouse to visit the main headquarters of AirBus, where the young people had the chance to observe and discover the design and production lines of aircraft. What put them in awe was the company’s attention to details at every single step.

The delegation enjoyed a lunch with the company's vice president during which they discussed several topics, most notably Saudi Arabia’s local affairs.

The delegation returned to Paris at the end of Tuesday’s itinerary.

Wednesday morning, the team proceeded to Blue Solutions by Bollore Group, which was founded in 1822 and specialized in manufacturing and enabling electricity storage devices. The team was informed that Blue Solutions has actually spent more than 20 years of research and investment to create the most efficient battery prototype that could easily and practically operate all types of electric vehicles with high efficiency.

Details of the company's production assets and operating plans were showcased in an open discussion session with Marketing Manager Olivier Colas.

At the end of the visit, the team enjoyed a pilot drive of different electric cars present in the property to witness by themselves the efficiency and smooth going of the company’s electric vehicles.

In the afternoon, the delegation went to visit the French business Incubator NUMA to learn about the acceleration programs provided by the company and all other projects that it is implementing to support and enable the young entrepreneurs and fresh startups.

The visit included a tour inside the company and its different departments followed by a highly motivational and inspirational discussion session with the organization’s international projects’ development director about the main obstacles that young entrepreneurs could face in Europe in general and in France in particular.

The discussion then tackled the incubator's presence in the Arab market. Its director confirmed their presence in Morocco where they have already activated one of their programs.

Talking about the potential of the Saudi market, the director expressed keen interest about it and a strong belief in the ability to explore and develop this potential through their programs.

Wednesday ended with one of the most mesmerizing experiences for the team at the famous Le Louvre Museum, where highly professional guided tours enabled the team to discover some of the most world-renowned pieces of art and the European heritage.

Thursday morning started with a visit to Kering Group headquarters, the mother brand of many international luxury brands, such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Puma, Bottega Veneta Stella McCartney and others to meet with the owner and CEO of the company, Francois Pinault.

The meeting began with a brief presentation of the company’s founding history, all the changes it went through and the historical heritage that it had to preserve as well as the radical decisions that took place in the company until it acquired its current empire status. The team was highly inspired by the methodology of the CEO, his intriguing personality and his keys to success, which they hoped to benefit from later on.

At the end of the visit, the delegation took a tour around the company's property to discover its history and the architectural style of the headquarters of one of the largest companies in the world.

The delegation then visited BPI's Inno Generation event, which allows emerging entrepreneurs to present their projects to visitors and investors. It also organized round table discussions about international affairs and issues happening all around the world, including the changes taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia currently.

The delegation had a chance to discover several projects and business models presented by the owners of small enterprises, which mostly used artificial intelligence and technologies as well as innovative solutions and futuristic ideas.

In the evening, the delegation paid a visit to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a private meeting with the director of the Middle East and North Africa affairs. The discussion revolved around the current European situation and Brexit initially and then moved on to the Kingdom. The host showed great enthusiasm over Saudi Arabia’s future and its Vision 2030 initiatives, which were discussed in detail with the team.

The trip to France, part of King Salman Youth Center’s “International Visits” Program, was a journey fulfilled with a big vision, great ambitions and renewable energy where dreams were competing against one another to hit the sky first. — SG