JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will chair a seminar at King Abdul Aziz Historical Hall in Makkah on Saturday to discuss new ideas to make Haj and Umrah more comfortable and safe.

“The institute is currently collaborating with five Saudi universities in its research studies on improving Haj and Umrah services,” head of the institute Thamir Al-Harbi told Arab News by telephone on Friday.

The 10th seminar of the institute starting on Saturday is scheduled to discuss a number of important topics in six sessions. Four papers will be read in the first session set apart for the application of advanced technologies and international experience in managing Haj crowds, The topics of each paper are:

• Using advanced technology to gather information for Haj and Umrah studies.

• Setting up an Internet portal for Haj, Umrah and the visit to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.

• Using a smart bracelet for the easy identification of pilgrims.

• Ways to implement the successful experiences of the previous Haj seasons in the next season.

The second session will focus on food safety during Haj. Three work papers will discuss the charity food supply in 2009 and voluntary services by women.

The third session is set apart for the discussion of innovative ideas for better organizing of Haj in general.

The four papers to be presented in the session will discuss the improvement of acoustic system in the Grand Mosque and ideas to develop services in the Grand Mosque. They will also discuss ways to solve the accommodation problem in Mina by utilizing all available land. Another paper will be on fatwas during Haj and Umrah.

The fourth session, which is earmarked for traffic movement, will have three papers on topics such as traffic flow around the Madinah mosque, evaluation of the effect of the ban on small vehicles carrying less than 25 seats in Makkah and holy sites during the last Haj season and ways to eliminate traffic snags between various points in holy sites.

The fifth session will focus on topics such as Fiqh studies and the Haj and Two Holy Mosques encyclopedia while the sixth session will be for media matters and awareness campaigns in Haj. It will present studies on the effectiveness of using huge billboards, radio and television broadcasting and huge screens for crowd management at the Jamrat Bridge.