Yesterday the WGG first Membership meeting of the year was honoured with a vist from HRH Princess Basmah Bint Saud. Her message to us was similar to her Mission Statement found on her website http://basmahbintsaud.com/about-hrh/

“As I was growing up, I was the kind of child, who questioned everything and everyone around her. For years I sought to unlock what I saw as the mysteries of life but hard as I tried those secrets remained tight lipped.

When I became a mother some things, like my responsibilities, became clear but I still had no answers to the many pressing questions that still haunted me. Essentially, I felt I wanted to make a difference but I didn’t know how and where to start.

As I reached the golden age of 40 it was as if I had woken from a long sleep. Everything became crystal clear. I knew what I had to do. I had to embark on a journey of reform, first in my personal life and then in my public life.

The first step was to leave an unhappy marriage and take full responsibility for my five children. Once I experienced reform in my private life, I wanted to see it everywhere. I especially wanted to see it in my country, Saudi Arabia, whose problems I was no longer afraid to highlight.

But my country was only a starting point and increasingly I felt the need to promote respect and freedoms within all societies and between genders.

My message is global. I have taken upon myself this responsibility and I invite you to join me on this momentous journey. My mission is to promote peace, prosperity and dignity, not war. We live in an age of cynicism where no one feels they can make a difference. It’s time we all stood up to our responsibilities, pooled our efforts together and pushed for a better, more equitable world.

This quest needs to be undertaken with wisdom and with a faith that we can make a difference. For the sake of our future generations, we must fear no one but God in our effort to bring prosperity, transparency, respect, equality and freedom.”

Princess Basmah spoke of her organization to promote her ideas ‘The Lanterns United Global’ a global network of peoples and organizations working towards a more egalitarian world. The Princess answered questions posed by Caroline Donovan and Yvonne Rafferty.

We are grateful to Rima Salah who introduced Princess Basmah to The Working Group on Girls. Princess Basmah posed for some photogrpahs with the WGG Co Chairs and Rima following her presentation