I have always been a fan of the Saudi National Dialogues. To me, this creative brainchild of King Abdullah not only serves as an ideal public platform to jumpstart the process of our coming to terms with current and emerging issues in a post-9/11 Saudi Arabia; but it also is the necessary prerequisite for building the social capital of our nation.

Since 2003, the Center for National Dialogue in the Kingdom has successfully engaged in creating an annual platform for dialogue in which a controversial topic is chosen for public discussion by key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors. These public events are carried out all over the Kingdom and have for participants citizens, civil society entities, nonprofit organizations, as well as members of the private and public sectors. At the end of these deliberations, the center consolidates all the recommendations into one document that is then formally presented to King Abdullah by a chosen group of citizens.

In the span of less than five years, these annual dialogues have touched upon highly sensitive themes that were not open for public discussion in the past. Topics such as extremism, youth empowerment, women’s rights, globalization, educational reform, and much more were being put to question; as a result, a transparent and candid process began to emerge wherein key public officials were brought onto the debate and put side by side with citizens to discuss matters of national development and progress.

It is at this critical juncture that I believe that this new process is forever changing the way we Saudis think, behave, and cooperate with each other as well as with the rest of the world.

Sometime this year, we will witness the conclusion of the most recent 7th Dialogue, which I had the opportunity to be invited to. As I participated in the ongoing deliberations, I began to observe that most of the people I interacted with were skeptical of the general outcome and impact of these dialogues. Most believed that these deliberations are nothing more than a waste of time — a venting mechanism that amounts to no significant change.

As I kept on hearing one argument after the other in support of this stance, I could not bring myself to actually disagree with any of them because after all, almost none of the recommendations presented by the former six dialogues have seen the light of day. But being the optimist that I am, I forced myself to try to see the big picture behind this emerging phenomenon. And after some careful reflection, I did.

I believed that the problem did not lie in the fact that these dialogues amounted to no obvious result, but in our inability to understand the strategic intent behind these events that have a higher purpose than that which we are currently focusing on.

Our main misconception is that these dialogues are not events for pre-policy or pre-legislation design as some of us would like to believe; nor are they a platform for executing the recommendations presented to King Abdullah. Their true purpose is much more strategic and its outcome may not be visible to us for some time.

But what we can observe now is the positive impact these events have had on our collective consciousness as a nation, mainly that we have begun the process of engaging in a systematic and scientific process for public debate and a sharing of perspectives. As years go by, and as we become more proficient in the art of openness, dialogue, and respect for diversity, we will gradually become more understanding of each other and more trusting of our mutual capabilities. This in turn will bring about a sense of “self” and “other” validation; which are the key ingredients for building the social capital of any progressive nation.

We may not yet know it, but this process is already in motion. To witness this, I invite you to join me in tracing the degree of openness and transparency that has taken place in the collective consciousness of the Saudi mindset starting from 2003 (the inauguration year of these dialogues) to 2008 (the most recent 7th Dialogue).

In 2003, the first National Dialogue was carried out behind closed doors, in total secrecy, and with the participation of a select number of men. No women, no youth, no media, no public coverage. It is only after its conclusion that the general public got news of the fact... This extreme secrecy highlights the introverted nature of Saudi society less than five years ago. Nearly five years and six dialogues later, the seventh and most recent dialogue not only brought together an equal number of male and female participants, but it also included youth and a diverse pool of professionals and individuals from various sectors.

Add to that the fact, that all the deliberations were broadcast via satellite television Kingdomwide. The once ultra conservative, private and elitist process of 2003 has now become the public property of Saudi society in its totality. And what may have been viewed as a useless waste of time by most may now be seen by many as a highly productive and worthwhile endeavor.

— Fatin Bundagji is an institutional development consultant. She is based in Jeddah.