2011 News

Kuwaiti woman raises national flag over Antarctica

Published: March 4, 2011
Arab Times

BERLIN, Feb 25, (KUNA): Miss Maryam Al-Jouan, representative of Kuwait Science Club (KSC), has raised the flag Friday of the State of Kuwait over Antarctica, expressing her best wishes for her homeland on the occasion of commemorating the national days.

She made the previous wish in her own capacity as the first Kuwaiti citizen to set foot on the earth’s southernmost continent.

Al-Jouan said — in a statement to KUNA — that she is now in Antarctica on board a ship including 90 scientists, and students from all over the world on a voyage sponsored by the Canadian Foundation of Students On Ice.

Al-Jouan — who set out on her mission on Feb 12 — said that she takes pride in being the first Kuwaiti citizen to set foot in Antarctica, adding that she represents her country in this mission which coincides with Kuwait’s celebrations of its national days including the 50th Independence Anniversary, the 20th Liberation Anniversary and the 5th Anniversary of the Assumption of Power by HH the Amir.

The voyage — which started on Feb 12 and will end on Feb 26 — took Al-Jouan to islands in Antarctica, and enabled her to take samples from the southernmost continent to study the effect of ocean on the global climate change.

Al-Jouan currently studies earth and space sciences in the German city of Bremen, and it is scheduled for her to wrap up her overseas studies by next May.

Original source taken from: Arab Times