KUWAIT: The National Day and Liberation Day holidays are golden opportunities to both instill the values of solidarity and loyalty to homeland in our young and to express and stress and try to bolster our national unity , prominent Kuwaiti figures stressed yesterday.

Interviewed on the occasion of the National Day and Liberation Day holidays, Feb 25 and 26, professor of educational management and planning at Kuwait University Dr. Ahmad Al-Bustan said true citizenship and patriotism is shunning what fosters divide and embracing what breeds unity.

He said this comes through a social process to spread an agreed and deemed acceptable behavior and attitude where the individual feels and expresses pride in his national identity and heritage and where he cooperates to sustain the sense of responsibility and partnership in sustaining a society of law and justice.

Amid present day challenges of a tumult of influences and rapid changes in all aspects of life, it is most vital to stress our own identity and what we hold dear to and what is our own unique set of values and norms, he said.

The professor further remarked that national solidarity could serve as tool of social development and of economic and social reform. It is the only sure and safe route for development if a nation is to reach "satisfactory" and "stable" advancement.

Patriotism and responsible citizenship translate into investing individuals' capabilities and resources for the good of all. This concept and attitude must also be instilled in our young by the school system.

Top-most among the duties of today's schools, he noted, is to stress the value of balance, co-existence, and freedom from restrictive social behavior to guarantee smooth and productive interaction.

Professor of social sciences at Kuwait University Dr. Yagoub Yusuf Al-Kanderi meanwhile told KUNA the term "citizenship" is closely connected to a set of other terms which include patriotism, loyalty to a homeland, national identity, clear alliance, national solidarity, and much more.

The broad and inclusive terms covers the said terms as well as concept of duties and responsibilities of citizens; the right to social justice, equality, and security on the one hand and the duty of productivity, respect of law and order, and need to do one's utmost to guarantee the homeland's best interest on the other.

This means a two-party system which implies constitutional rights and duties for both parties, and the system ultimately aims to satisfy mutual goals and objectives, he said.

As to instilling the values which sustain this system, he said this is a shared responsibility of the family, first and foremost, and other social institutions, educational institutions, the media, as well as state institutions which all contribute to the new generations' upbringing.

The family carries the heaviest burden in this respect since it is the first line of contact, the most influential environment, and the unit individuals get in contact with the most in early stages of personal development and beyond, Al-Kanderi pointed out. - Kuwait Times