DAMMAM: Starting Monday, the Eastern Province will witness a three-day event, the Eighth Forum for Volunteerism, Human Innate Character and a Cultural View, which is organized by the Ibdaa' (creativity) Forum in cooperation with the Volunteerism Society. The gathering at Mercure Hotel in Al-Khobar is being held under the patronage of Princess Jawahir Bint Naif, wife of the Emir of the Eastern Province, in the presence of Dr. Fatima Al-Bloushi, Bahraini Minister of Social Development and Maha Fitaihi, wife of the Minister of Labor and head of the Kingdom's Girl Guides. There will be participation by teams of volunteers, social authorities and personalities supporting volunteerism in the Kingdom through presentation of a number of working papers. They include a paper by Nuha Al-Amri, a researcher, that focuses on volunteerism and social service, their concepts, purports, objectives, fruits and status in Islam and their place in the society. The first day of the forum, in which the Bahraini minister will speak, will deal with the current organizational status of institutions for volunteerism and social service from the standpoint of charitable groups. In cooperation with Maryam Al-Zahrani from Dammam University and director of Princess Jawahir Charitable Center and Badriyah Al-Othman, Maha Fitaihi will highlight the role of government and private institutions in developing, stimulating and supporting volunteerism and social service. Discussions on the second day will focus on obstacles facing young women's participation in volunteer work and ways to overcoming them. A paper will be presented by Dr. Amal Sheerah, director of Human Resources Administration in the Kingdom at Schindler International Company. There will also be a workshop on the media's role in developing, stimulating and supporting volunteerism and social service, which will be presented by the TV anchor Hana Al-Rikabi and producer Badr Al-Hamoud. The last day has been allocated for discussing the effects of participation of young women in volunteerism and social service.
