Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements

MIAMI: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Formula E announced on Thursday the launch of Driving Force Presented by PIF, an educational initiative designed to empower the next generation of engineers, scientists, and sustainability leaders.

The announcement comes ahead of this weekend’s Miami E-Prix.

The initiative will roll out in schools across the US, Saudi Arabia, and the UK, offering hands-on STEM and sustainability education to students aged 8 to 18.

Combining in-person workshops with digital resources, the program aims to engage more than 50,000 students globally by the end of 2025.

The first session took place on Thursday at Keys Gate Charter School in South Florida, where up to 90 students took part in interactive workshops designed to ignite their curiosity in motorsport, engineering, and green technology.

The debut aligns with PIF’s broader mission of accelerating the development of sustainable electric mobility through its E360 partnership, which unites three high-profile electric racing series: Formula E, Extreme H, and E1 electric powerboat racing.

Alejandro Agag, founder and chairman of Formula E, Extreme H and E1, praised the initiative’s scope and ambition.

“Since introducing the PIF E360 partnership last year, Formula E and PIF continue to look for opportunities to make a positive, real-world impact,” he said.

“Driving Force Presented by PIF is an example of how PIF is not only elevating motorsports but also inspiring the next generation of talent through STEM education, which plays a crucial role in the future of sustainable mobility and green technology.”

Mohammed Al-Sayyad, head of corporate brand at PIF, echoed the sentiment.

“PIF is committed to supercharging the growth and transformation of electric motorsport, and through our partnership with E360, we are collaborating with our partners to accelerate progress, maximize impact, and deliver powerful unified programs,” he said.

“For the first time, we are bringing together Formula E, Extreme H and E1 to expand the Driving Force program and drive transformative impact by empowering youth who are the innovators of tomorrow,” he added.

The launch of Driving Force also marked the beginning of “Supercharged,” a new PIF campaign designed to amplify innovation and sustainability through the E360 platform, with a focus on driving technological advancement and positioning green innovation at the heart of future mobility solutions.

RIYADH: The Saudi Heritage Commission unveiled new findings this week that prove the Kingdom was a vital oasis eight million years ago.

Mesfer Alqahtani, archaeology consultant at the commission, said on Wednesday: “The core findings of this study is that the Arabian Peninsula was not always a desert, it underwent repeated humid phases that supported rich biodiversity and sustained both land and marine ecosystems, making it a natural bridge for the movement of species between Africa and Asia in the ancient world.” 

The SHC, in collaboration with leading local and international institutions, led a scientific mission that looked into the oxygen and hydrogen isotopes preserved in cave formations. It used a combination of dating techniques such as uranium-thorium and uranium lead analysis studies to document the longest-known record of ancient climate in the Arabian Peninsula, dating back about eight million years.

The study analyzed 22 speleothem samples extracted from seven desert caves located northeast of Riyadh near Shawayyah in Rumah governorate. The caves are locally known as Duhool Al-Samman. 

Experts at the SHC underlined that these findings provide clear evidence of recurrent humid and rainy periods in the region’s past. 

The study also found fossils pointing to the presence of a fertile environment.

Dr. Ajab Alotaibi, director general of the commission’s antiquities sector, said that the study highlighted the Arabian Peninsula’s crucial role as a corridor for the dispersal of organisms between Africa, Asia and Europe.

The study is part of the commission’s flagship initiative, the Green Arabia Project, which aims to explore the region’s natural and environmental history.

Michael Petralia, professor and director, Australian Research Center for Human Evolution, said: “Our archaeological work on the lakes of Arabia has now indicated that humans and early humans were in Saudi Arabia 500,000 years ago; that tells us immediately that Arabia acted as a crossroads between continents, between Africa and Asia, so this is a landscape that is very important in terms of documenting heritage, paleontology, archaeology, through time.”

The SHC-led findings have been published in the scientific journal, “Nature,” under the title “Recurrent humid phases in Arabia over the past 8 million years.” 

The research brought together 30 scientists from 28 organizations — local and international — including the Heritage Commission, the Saudi Geological Survey, King Saud University, the Max Planck Institute in Germany, Griffith University in Australia, and several universities and research centers across Germany, Italy, the UK and the US.

According to the SHC, the study marks a major milestone for the Green Arabia Project, one of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious efforts to promote scientific research and document the natural and cultural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula.

These findings also offer valuable insights into restoring Saudi Arabia to its original, greener state, supporting pivotal projects such as Green Riyadh and the Saudi Green Initiative.

The project seeks to better understand how environmental and climatic changes have shaped the region across eras — contributing to a richer, more complete understanding of Saudi Arabia’s natural history.

Jasir Al-Herbish, CEO of the SHC, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to advancing research and fostering international collaborations.