JEDDAH, 1 December 2004 — Sixty-two young Saudi men and women — including university graduates as well as 40 male and female experts — will take part in the fourth dialogue forum to be held at Dhahran International Hotel on Dec. 7-9.
Faisal ibn Muammar, secretary-general of King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center, said the three-day forum would discuss four pivotal issues: Youth and patriotism; youth and education; youth and society and culture; and youth and employment.
The forum is aimed at diagnosing the problems facing the young to find viable solutions as well as to encourage them to engage in constructive dialogue, Muammar said.
The center had conducted 13 workshops in various parts of the Kingdom to prepare for the forum, he said, adding that more than 650 young people and experts had attended them.
“Some of the young men and women taking part in the Dhahran forum are selected from the workshops,” he said.
“The new forum comes as part of the center’s efforts to expand participation in national dialogue and discuss issues of national importance,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Muammar as saying.
“There will be eight working sessions and a concluding session, each with a duration of an hour and 45 minutes,” he said.
The national dialogue forum, initiated by Prince Abdullah last year, has been instrumental in taking up pressing issues facing Saudi society. It gave people of different views and backgrounds including Islamic scholars, academics and intellectuals a platform to debate vital issues to reach consensus for strengthening national unity.
The first forum in Riyadh led to the formation of the dialogue center while the second in Makkah dealt with issues ranging from extremism, nepotism and violence to politics and economics. The third forum in Madinah focused on issues related to women.
