Riyadh: The King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue (KACNA) in Riyadh is to hold a series of intellectual discussions about Saudi culture, to be attended by 70 male and female intellectuals from across the Kingdom.
The discussions will be between December 29 and 30 in Jeddah.
Such national discussions in Saudi were started by King Abdullah in 2003 when he was Crown Prince.
The December forum will examine various aspects of Saudi culture.
The King Abdul Aziz Centre for National Dialogue said its mission was to create a new environment which would encourage discussion between various segments of Saudi society.
It is hoped that the forum will attract public interest and strengthen national unity, with the Islamic faith as its foundation.
Forum organisers said attendees are scheduled to discuss a number of issues including tribalism, regionalism and ideology – and their impact on national unity.
Previous discussions have been described as succeeding in laying a common ground for healthy dialogue between people from various parts of the Saudi community.
Organisers said forum participants varied in terms of their background and education, and included religious scholars, scientists, thinkers and academics.
Tribalism is strong in Saudi Arabia. As a result, organisers of the upcoming national dialogue have said they are working to ensure this sense of tribalism does not stop forum participants from defining a national agreement on certain issues that concern Saudi Arabia.
In previous national dialogue meetings, Saudis of various religious schools of thought, including Sunni and Shiite, sat together to discuss the issues on the agenda.
Shaikh Hassan Al Saffar, a well-known Saudi Arabian Shiite cleric who took part in the national dialogue, has been quoted as saying that the National Dialogue Centre has played an important role in defining and spreading national culture.
He added that it needed to do more to prepare citizens to accept ideological diversity and encourage them to co-operate on common projects by disregarding their sectarian affiliations.
