Riyadh 18 Safar 1444 AH, corresponding to September 14, 2022 AD

The Gulf Family Forum kicked off today under the theme “Future Opportunities and Challenges for the Family in the Gulf”, coinciding with the Gulf Family Day, organized by the Family Affairs Council in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development and Chairman of the Family Affairs Council, Engineer Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi.

The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, in a speech delivered on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for the Social Development Sector, Mr. Majid bin Abdulrahim Al-Ghanimi, appreciated the support and interest of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Highness the Crown Prince – may Allah protect them – in family affairs, as they are keen to support the role of the family, feel its needs and provide all means to enjoy stability, well-being and the ability to face challenges.
“The Gulf Family Forum comes this year to emphasize the importance of the family and its value in the Gulf societal fabric, and we were keen on this occasion and through this forum to raise the most important contemporary family issues in order to strengthen the family values system and highlight its role in preparing generations capable of keeping pace with the changes of the times while preserving our religious and social values,” Al Ghanimi said.

His Excellency added: “The peoples of the GCC countries share many issues and societal characteristics related to the family, and the indicators related to the high percentage of youth in the Gulf society, in addition to the shared interest in the issue of empowering women, because they are aware of their role in the process of construction and development, in addition to the Gulf values that call for reverence and care for the elderly, and childhood issues that require participatory work to build a future that accommodates their future aspirations and aspirations.”

“Through this forum, we seek to achieve the required integration and enhance the status of the Gulf family and its developmental role by involving those interested in social affairs, universities, research centers and centers concerned with the family, in addition to prominent figures at the local and Gulf levels, and experts in Gulf and international organizations related to the family to discuss the future opportunities and challenges of the family, as well as the impact of family values in preparing a more effective generation to face the future challenges of the Gulf family,” he added.

For his part, H.E. Naif bin Falah Al-Hajraf, Secretary General of the GCC, said in his speech at the opening of the forum that “our true Islamic religion emphasized the importance of the family and its role in raising children and promoting values, stressing that the GCC Family Forum, which coincided with Gulf Family Day, is a unique opportunity to exchange experiences and highlight common policies among the GCC countries.”

He pointed out the great interest that the leaders of the GCC countries pay in the Gulf family, stressing that to face the dangers of foreign programs and websites that have a negative impact on young people, an advisory committee was formed at the Supreme Council of the GCC General Secretariat to study how to deal with them, praising the themes of the forum, which focused on important topics that address the challenges facing the Gulf family.

In her speech, H.E. Dr. Hala bint Mazeed Al-Tuwaijri, Secretary General of the Family Affairs Council, said: “The Gulf Family Forum is launched in its first edition in conjunction with this year’s Gulf Family Day to celebrate the family in the Gulf and its important and authentic role in protecting the social fabric and preserving the values and constants of our Gulf societies.”

She added that the dialogue sessions of the forum focused on raising the most important issues of the contemporary Gulf family in light of the rapid social, economic and technological changes, stressing that the family in the Gulf is not isolated from the factors affecting the world at all levels, which necessitates joint action to benefit from its data and reduce its negative effects on the family with all its components. She also stressed the importance of benefiting from the opinions and discussions of the participating experts and specialists, so that the forum creates a positive movement at the level of the family and its members, and achieves its goals in integrating efforts at all levels.

The two-day forum addresses the challenges facing the Gulf family in a series of dialog sessions that focus on issues and topics of importance and priority for the family, opportunities and challenges, Gulf family values and their impact on preparing a more effective generation to face the challenges of the future.