JEDDAH, 8 March 2006 — An ambitious social campaign will be launched next week as part of Jeddah Municipality’s efforts to improve relations between the residents of Jeddah and the municipality, according to Ahmad Dabroom, director of the municipality’s Social Development and General Activities Department.
Municipality officials have announced that they will go to mosques, schools, and public and private offices to talk about communal disease-preventive measures, elimination of garbage and other social issues that would contribute to the development of the city, said Dabroom.
“This outreach is the only effective way to implement change and create a better, cleaner and more civilized city,” he said.
The initiative will help inform the public about preventive measures against the ever-present risk of Dengue fever; give information about Avian flu; discuss measure of cooperation to eliminate garbage around the city; and take complaints and suggestions directly from the people, he said.
Dabroom also noted that they were also planning many social events and activities for residents of Jeddah. “We are planning to manage at least three events every week,” he said.
The municipality’s community engagement initiative is focused on developing cultural activities that promote the city’s multiculturalism, Dabroom said.
The city’s three-year-old Culture and Tourism Department has been given new life under an initiative by Mayor Adel Faqeeh, who was appointed to his position last year.
There is a special allocated budget for the new department, which is working hard to interact between all the communities and deal with their suggestions and needs, he said.
He noted that they are expecting many multicultural activities in the coming months.
“This growth of cultural activities would largely contribute to the social development of the Bride of the Red Sea,” the mayor said, referring to Jeddah’s nickname.
Five portable exhibitions, in Arabic, English and French that highlight the Kingdom, the city of Jeddah and the role of the municipality, are also part of the ongoing cultural development activities in Jeddah, according to Sami Nawar, head of the tourism department.
The idea behind those portable shows is to give information about the cultural aspects of the city in addition to the main role of the municipality and how residents can interact with its various departments for both suggestions and complaints.
“Any local resident or community member is welcome to contact the tourism and culture department for any assistance to organize cultural shows or even just to submit suggestions or complaints,” he said.
Last week the mayor opened a Yemen cultural exhibition at the new Al-Bunt Museum in downtown Jeddah as part of the city’s drive to promote culture and tourism. Al-Bunt Museum, located in downtown Jeddah behind the Al-Mahmal Center, would be dedicated to all those who need to exhibit their cultures, he said.
The museum hosted for the first time a cultural exhibition organized by the Yemeni community in Jeddah, he said. The exhibition was extended an extra week, through Friday, due to overwhelming response.
“We were so surprised to see the extension letter from the municipality,” said Mohammed Al-Wesabi, exhibition organizer and member of the Yemeni community in Jeddah.
With the longer timeframe, the organizing committee thought of adding more activities to the exhibition, he said. For Wednesday and Thursday, they are planning to create a traditional Yemeni fashion contest for juveniles, he said.
“We have received many applicants, aged between three and 12,” he said, adding that it would be a great chance to expose the variety of fashion designs related to different Yemeni provinces.
