The event, co-sponsored by the Saudi Strategic Studies Institute (SSSI) headed by Prince Faisal bin Turki Al-Faisal, will be inaugurated by the city’s mayor Dr. Hani Abu Ras. Prince Faisal told Arab News that the event is taking place at a time when the Jeddah municipality is preparing an ambitious plan to make the city sustainable.
The workshop would discuss the problems faced by Jeddah due to the increase in its population. He pointed out that the topics earmarked for discussion would cover the city's infrastructure development, water resources and natural calamities such as the recent floods in Jeddah.
“We have to take a positive look at the natural disasters that affect us. We have to learn from our past and re-think as to how we could avert such calamities in the future,” Prince Faisal said, adding that it is everyone's responsibility to enable cities to meet its future challenges.
On Tuesday, he said, participants would discuss how best authorities could work toward sustainable development in the Jeddah city.
Morning presentations will be made by international experts explaining global models and policies in urban development, while the afternoon session will be devoted to discussing the challenges faced by authorities in Jeddah toward sustainable urban growth.
Prince Faisal, who concluded a two-day workshop on sustainable development, policies and implementation strategies in Riyadh on Monday, said participants in the capital came out with interesting ideas that could be considered for implementation for the Kingdom's future projects.
“Sustainability is a goal we need to achieve and it is no longer an option,” he noted, pointing out that the country has to face numerous challenges in sectors such as health, energy, food, water power, agriculture, and the environment due to the rising population.
Sustainability depends on economic, social and environmental development, the prince said, indicating that all should go hand in hand with each other.
To address these issues through sustainability initiatives, the prince said the SSSI, supported by technical experts from the British government’s Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office's Strategic Program fund, held the workshop with a view toward developing an integrated policy for Saudi Arabia.
The SSSI events in Riyadh and Jeddah are co-sponsored by the Urban Design Partnership (UDP) and Boeing. Since its inception, the organization has organized three workshops and its inaugural function was attended by Riyadh Deputy Governor Prince Sattam two years ago. The Riyadh workshop aimed to introduce the latest policies and strategies internationally adopted to implement sustainable development thinking. It included discussions on economy, energy, renewable energy, environment, water, agriculture, cities and sustainable urbanism.
