RIYADH: Expatriate communities living in the Kingdom should participate in national dialogue programs organized by the King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center, a study has recommended.

It calls on the center to develop its operations to include families, mosques and expatriate communities. The research also defined the institution’s future role as moving beyond the Kingdom’s geographic borders and including other parts of society.

The study also praised Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s role in promoting national dialogue. However, it criticized the center’s lack of long-term vision. A group of Saudi academics led by Abdul Kareem Al-Saif from the University of Qassim presented the independent findings to the center at a press conference. The study revealed that over three quarters of the 5,000 respondents were aware the center exists.

However, only two-fifths were aware of its activities. The researchers interviewed members of the public from a cross-section of society across 10 regions. They made a point of including mainstream Saudis in the study as well as the highly educated.

Respondents called for a national dialogue on segregation, discrimination and even include the football community. The center’s secretary-general Faisal bin Muamar said he had already started acting on the study’s findings.