JEDDAH, 11 December 2004 — Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday spoke about an emerging culture of dialogue in the Kingdom and emphasized that the government would give top priority to youth issues. Addressing young Saudi men who took part in the recent National Dialogue Forum in the Eastern Province, he said the authorities would respond favorably to their constructive proposals.
“I have immense pleasure to tell you that a culture of dialogue has started spreading in the Saudi society as we have started discussing our issues openly,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the crown prince as saying.
“We are talking frankly about our worries and we are exchanging views on all questions,” he added. “We consider youth as the most important of all our issues as they represent the future of our country and the Islamic nation,” Prince Abdullah told participants at the reception, which was attended by Saleh Al-Hosain, chairman of King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center, and other officials.
“We have been hearing the voices of youth with open hearts and attentive minds. We know that they are capable of talking about their worries and ambitions...These voices will certainly be taken note of, because we pin great hopes on our youth,” he said.
The crown prince called on young people to serve their religion, adding “Islam is a religion of justice, law and morality.” He once again attacked Saudi extremists for launching a series of bombings and shootings across the Kingdom since May 2003. “They have tarnished the reputation of Islam,” he added.
Prince Abdullah initiated the national dialogue last year. The first session held in Riyadh led to the formation of the dialogue center while the subsequent meetings in Makkah and Madinah focused on extremism, educational curricula, unemployment, national unity and women’s issues.
More than 60 youths and 40 male and female researchers and academics from different parts of the Kingdom took part in the three-day dialogue on youth issues which opened at the Dhahran International Hotel on Tuesday.
The participants called on youth welfare organizations to pay more attention to the cultural, social, scientific and sporting needs of the youth and for designing special programs for the gifted. They said they wanted to see young Saudis have access to knowledge through the establishment of cultural and literary centers as well as public libraries all over the Kingdom.
Among the recommendations was planning a strategy for evaluating education for all stages and developing its structure taking into consideration the current challenges and changes such as the population growth. It also emphasized the need to modernize educational methodologies.
