As the year 2024 comes to an end, we wanted to take the time to reflect on the successes of the last 12 months.
During 2024, we held 14 events as part of our regular programme for our members, alumni and New Generation Group, with over 1000 attendees combined (in person and via live stream online). We have tried hard to include something for everyone with an interest in Oman as the Society seeks both to engage its Members, with your extensive knowledge of Oman, and to educate more people about the Sultanate.
In addition to our regular members events programme, we hosted numerous delegations, supporting the convening of high-level discussions around education and youth engagement, Omani entrepreneurship, military, business and tourism issues. We also lent our staff and contributed funding to support important confluence projects, including the UK launch of the Jewel of Arabia Expedition, which brought together the Royal families of both our countries in November.
This year, we also continued to run our three flagship youth engagement programmes, hosting our: 10th New Generation Group Delegation in London on "Future Skills: AI's Role in Transforming Education and Workforce Development" (Nov 2024), the 100th student on our Student Volunteer Oman Scheme at The Sultan’s School, and the 13th year of our Arabic Language Scheme at the Sultan Qaboos College for Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers, in Manah.
Alongside our events, we also supported a number of important projects via our Grants programme. During 2024 awarding approximately £131,242 to projects that met our charitable objectives and supported the objectives of Oman’s Vision 2040. These included awards that contributed to leadership training, education, scientific research, environmental projects and the study or exhibition of Oman’s heritage.
We hope you've enjoyed engaging with our activities and attending our events this year. We look forward to welcoming you to even more great events in the year ahead - visit our events page for the latest event updates. Thank you all for your continued support for the Society!
Have a look below at all the past events we've hosted over the year:
BOS Events of 2024
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A Cycling World Record Across Oman: 1,200Km in Under Two Days, with Jon Shubert (Jan 2024)
We welcomed Jon Shubert as our speaker at the BOS on January 18th, 2024.
Jon is a presenter, scientist, teacher, adventurer, and multiple Cycling World Record holder, best known for breaking the three-hour barrier for cycling 100 miles. He shared his experience of setting a Cycling World Record in 2018, cycling across Oman from Muscat to Salalah.
Read more about it on page 34 of the BOS Annual Review.
Aziza al-Mughairy, the first GCC national to be employed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), speaks about How Modern Science Unravels the Secrets of the Ancient Worlds.
Aziza spoke with us prior to her February 2024 lecture about her early interest in science, Gulf Arab representation in scientific fields and her own research, among other topics.
Read our Q&A with her here.
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Navigating through Oman’s Fiscal and Diversification Reforms, with Hamid Hamirani (Mar 2024)
Hamid Hamirani navigates us through Oman’s Fiscal and Diversification Reforms.
Read the Q&A with BOS speaker Hamid Hamirani on page 74 of the BOS Annual Review.
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Mark Evans is an explorer, writer, and speaker who recently gave an insightful talk at the British Omani Society about the 28-day journey of British explorer Harry St John Philby across the Heart of Arabia.
Philby's service in Baghdad and Basra led him to be dispatched south on a mission to meet Ibn Saud in Riyadh, a mission that would see him cross Arabia and be awarded the Royal Geographical Society Founders Medal. Mark's talk explored this journey through his own expedition that followed in his footsteps.
We had the opportunity to ask Mark a few questions about Philby, his remarkable journey and what it meant to him.
Read about it here.
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MENA & Oman Studies Taster Day Workshop - introducing students to Oman and BOS youth schemes (Apr 2024)
This event was designed and led by one of our previous interns, Asma Ibrahim, and is now an annual fixture in our programming schedule. This year, we were joined by students interested in the Middle East from various sixth form colleges across London and beyond.
Read about it on page 44 of the BOS Annual Review.
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Rob is a well-known marine conservationist, specialising in marine mammals and sea turtles of the Arabian region, and also has wider interests both taxonomically and geographically. He has skills in many environmental fields, from EIA and protected areas planning to education and sustainability, all with the ambition of making positive contributions towards a better world.
Read our Q&A with him here.
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Dhofar: A Snapshot in Time – Sultan’s Armed Forces Association Lecture (June 2024)
Guest lecturer Peter Sichel and the Sultan’s Armed Forces Association gave us a Snapshot in Time of Dhofar in the 70s.
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BOS Alumni Reunion (June 2024)
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The New Labour Law in Oman was issued on 31st July 2023 by Royal Decree 53/2023 and became effective immediately thereafter. Gorvinder Pannu, representing the legal firm Addleshaw Goddard gave a lecture at the BOS on July 25th 2024, one year following the enactment of this law.
She offered our members comprehensive details on the revisions and consequences of the new legislation, particularly focusing on its implications for the employment of foreign nationals and the Omanisation policy.
Read about it here.
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The British Omani Society hosted the Private View of the BOS Art Group exhibition on September 26th 2024, which showcased artworks from four emerging artists from Oman: Almuntasir Nasser, Majid Al-Amri, Ahmed Al-Qasimi, and Sara Al-Hosni.
It was an evening to remember for us at the Society, as it was great for us to have the chance to showcase great Omani art to a UK audience and hopefully open the door for future collaborations and opportunities for emerging Omani artists.
Read about it here.
The British Omani Society hosted its Annual Lunch on Friday, October 4th 2024, at the Royal Air Force Club, London, with over one hundred members and guests in attendance. The event was a wonderful success - an occasion filled with warmth, camaraderie, and friendship.
Read about it here.
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The British Omani Society (BOS) successfully hosted a three-day New Generation Group (NGG) delegation in London, focusing on the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education and workforce development. This year’s theme, titled “Future Skills: AI’s Role in Transforming Education and Workforce Development", convened a distinguished panel of experts to examine the multifaceted impacts of AI on education and career development.
Read about it here.
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The British Omani Society is honoured to have been able to support and witness the project Oman: Jewel of Arabia go from ideas to life.
Read about it here.
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The British Omani Society hosted a festive private viewing of the Oman archives at the Royal Geographical Society on the 11th of December, 2024.
The evening was a huge success! Our attendees got into the seasonal spirit with some mulled wine and mince pies before heading down into the viewing rooms for an exclusive presentation led by the wonderfully insightful Jamie Owen (FRGS).
Read about it here.