JEDDAH, 10 April 2006 — An official of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has underlined the importance of maintaining momentum to ensure the success of the National Dialogue programs conducted by the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue.
“What is needed now is to continue and ensure success in turning the dialogue culture into our way of life,” RCCI Secretary-General Husein Abdurahman Al-Athel said in an interview.
“There are very strong indications that most people in the Kingdom have shown readiness to accept the new dialogue culture. This clearly shows that the efforts of the center are bearing the desired fruits and what’s needed is greater efforts to speed up the process,” he said.
Al-Athel believes that issues related to women’s rights and obligations to society and also their education must be addressed as soon as possible.
Concerning public participation in the center’s activities, Al-Athel said the basis of participation must broaden and many more people had to be invited to meetings and forums in different parts of the country.
“People with different viewpoints must be invited to the meetings,” he said, adding that the center’s activities need to be decentralized. This will mean establishing branches in different parts of the Kingdom with the head office in Riyadh remaining in charge of important matters while local branches take care of other questions.
Stressing the role of mosques, he said: “Imams in each mosque should be directed to put forward topics for discussion by the congregation soon after Isha. Worshippers should exchange views before they leave the mosque. This is not something new to our Islamic society. In the early days, Muslims held meetings in mosques to discuss public affairs.”
Businessmen could also play an effective role. “Businessmen are in a better position to lead debates and discussions. They can use their experience in organizing dialogues,” he added.
The center recently participated in a seminar on administrative efficiency and a forum on the language of civilizations, held in the Eastern Province.
Dr. Fahd ibn Sultan Al-Sultan presented a working paper to the seminar on administrative efficiency, which was sponsored by the regional office. The paper dealt with the role of the center in further cementing national unity and outlined the great strides made by the center since its establishment more than two and a half years ago with the aim of turning dialogue into a way of life for the citizens.
