The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Chairman of the Family Affairs Council, Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi, will patronize the Saudi Family Forum 2020, organized by the Family Council on October 11-12, 2020, under the title “The Family in the Face of Crises”, with the participation of many experts and specialists in the field. The forum will discuss four main themes, including the culture of risk and crisis management, lessons learned from the Corona pandemic, challenges and opportunities in crises, as well as the use of technology to adapt to crises, and risk management, such as the “Corona pandemic”.

In its third edition, which is held annually, the forum focuses on the most important social issues affecting the family, its members, stability and cohesion through several axes in which experts participate, in an effort to extract recommendations that are the basis for proactive national plans that contribute to protecting the family and supporting it in the face of emergency crises. In the first axis, experts address the culture of risk and crisis management by examining factors and indicators to measure the family’s adaptation to crises (health, social, educational and social), life skills for crisis management and their role in family stability, the importance of the family’s economic structure and its role in overcoming crises, and the importance of integration between institutions to support the family during crises.

The second theme of the forum deals with the lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic in a number of topics, most notably the social impact of the initiatives and policies launched to address the pandemic and their results, reviewing best local and international practices in facing the pandemic, and the importance of family empowerment during and after the coronavirus pandemic, through planning, distributing roles and responsibilities, and sensing the magnitude of responsibility.

In the third theme, the forum addresses challenges and opportunities in crises, by examining how women achieve a balance between family and work in light of the circumstances the world has experienced due to the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to examining the impact of the crisis on children in health, education, social and psychological terms, and the most prominent challenges and opportunities for the elderly and youth during the pandemic.

The speakers will conclude the forum by examining the use of technology to adapt to crises and manage risks, by reviewing the digital transformation in the provision of government services and its impact on the quality of services, the experience of the third sector response to the pandemic, locally and internationally, in addition to the use of technology in awareness and digital media during and after the pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic crisis, which has had a greater impact on the individual, family, and community worldwide, has revealed the importance of preparedness and planning for emergencies, as well as provided an opportunity to test the ability to cope and adapt to crises.

On this occasion, the Secretary General of the Family Affairs Council, Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijri, stressed the importance of holding this forum in the wake of the circumstances experienced by the family and society due to the Corona pandemic, pointing out the need for the family to have a permanent strategy to face crises. Dr. Al-Tuwaijri praised the efforts of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and its unlimited support and interest in family and community health, which resulted in mitigating the repercussions of the pandemic and its negative effects on the country and the citizen.