Saudi Gazette report

MADINAH — Deputy Emir of Madinah Prince Saud Bin Khaled Al-Faisal emphasized the importance of empowering and qualifying the younger generation of Saudis to be ambassadors and advocates of moderation as well as to confront deviant thoughts.

He highlighted the activities and programs of the Ambassadors of Moderation Forum in this regard. He made the remarks while patronizing, on behalf of Madinah Emir Prince Faisal Bin Salman, the closing ceremony of the fifth edition of the forum and launching of the program’s competition among participating universities and colleges.

Prince Saud underscored the program’s keenness on educating all segments of society in general, and students of Saudi universities in particular, about the importance of keeping pace with the intellectual and economic development led by Saudi Arabia so as to take the Kingdom into the ranks of leading countries in thought and economy.

This is through empowering and qualifying the youth to protect national intellectual security and to be ambassadors and advocates in spreading moderation in its holistic concept, he said.

The event, under the slogan of “Fikr” was organized by Taibah University in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, and several charity, civil and private bodies and institutions.

Addressing the event, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Sirani, president of Taibah University, said that the program targets over 200 male and female students, representing more than 40 universities and colleges from various regions of the Kingdom, to enhance their intellectual awareness through a number of training programs, dialogue sessions, awareness lectures, and orientation seminars.

All these are aimed to enable them to be ambassadors of moderation and thus contribute to spreading the moderate Islamic concept in society, he said while stressing the Saudi righteous approach to adhering to moderation as a way of life in thought and behavior.

Deputy Secretary General of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue Ibrahim Al-Asiri said in his speech that the center has realized, since the early period following its inception, the importance of community training in spreading the culture and values of dialogue.

He noted that the center established an academy for dialogue and training, to carry out training programs and workshops on the culture of dialogue and moderation, in addition to directing most of its activities to spread these values.