Leading experts will discuss Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues at a major conference in Saudi Arabia this month.

The CSR Forum will be held again in Saudi Arabia following the success of the previous year’s event.

The forum this year will be supported by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and will take place from November 24 to 26, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Jeddah.

CSR Saudi Arabia 2014 will gather leading representatives of corporate organisations, ministries and other government bodies, NGOs, foundations, universities and SMEs from across Saudi Arabia and around the world, who will discuss topics including how to embed corporate and social sustainability into CSR programmes to drive community development, strengthen education delivery and empower the youth. Employment generation and the development of women are other key topics on the agenda.

Hoda Abdelhay, conference director - Informa, organiser of CSR Saudi 2014, said: “We are very pleased to bring the CSR Summit to Saudi Arabia for the second year in a row, recognising the Kingdom’s importance as the biggest market in the GCC and its status as a world class host of major international events.”

Abdelhay added: “This year, Saudi youth takes centre stage at the summit since they represent the future of the nation where more than 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 30. The brightest young talents have a key role to play in the sustainable development of social responsibility in the country and the summit represents a platform for their engagement and a unique opportunity for their voices to be heard.”

The event will be packed with three days of interactive learning and stakeholder networking, the agenda of the summit includes Speed Networking, CSR Focus Roundtables, CSR Workshops and Panel Debates. A highlight of the agenda is The Rising Star, a roundtable discussion dedicated to empowering the leaders of tomorrow to take part in shaping the kingdom’s future generation

The addition to this year will be the CSR Saudi Arabia Awards which recognise the best among the country’s CSR community.  Led by an expert panel of multi-stakeholders ranging from NGOs and corporates to universities and internationals, the final winner of the awards will be chosen by the attendees.

The panel of speakers will include some of the Saudi Arabia’s most distinguished CSR practitioners along with other experts from regional and global organisations. Saudi government officials will also play a leading role including Dr Mohammad Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, deputy minister for Educational Affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education, who will deliver the government dignitary keynote address.

For the second year running the headline sponsor of CSR Saudi Arabia 2014 is the Zahid Group, whose vice president for Group Affairs Amr Khashoggi commented on the importance of educating and empowering Saudi’s youth to become the leaders of tomorrow by elevating their awareness of social responsibility and building their expertise to develop and implement sustainable CSR programmes that contribute to the Kingdom’s social and economic advancement. – TradeArabia News Service