This cultural visit comes as a part of the activities of the National Communication Committee to promote national unity, dialogue and openness between various segments of the society.
During the visit, the delegation met with a group of intellectuals, academics, journalists and social figures from Unaiza, and discussed challenges facing the Saudi society and how to enhance communications.
Yahya Al-Quraish, chief of the committee said that “such mutual visits contribute in exchanging cultures and experiences in the field of humanitarian and volunteer work as well as sharing common concerns among people in order to find solutions”.
On the other hand, Jassim Almeshraf said that “our goal is to promote national unity, preserve coherence and staying away from the causes of tension and disputes”.
It is worth mentioning that National Inter-Communication Committee was established in Qatif 2009 to organize mutual visits and social meetings and to introduce traditional tourism and social aspects of each region in order to eliminate misunderstanding.
During the visit to Unaizh, Jafar Alshayeb, a writer and a human rights activist lectured on contemporary challenges which face society in Alohaly Tuesday Forum. He said that “one of the most prominent challenges is media including social media and TV satellites which have prevailed in the world dramatically”.
He pointed out that the number of the internet users in the Kingdom has reached more than seven million people, explaining that internet is considered an open communications mean which has a significant impact where a tweet may raise several questions.
He added that “TV channels have a significant influence on the society too, referring to the report “Freedom to Broadcast Hatred” which was prepared by BBC last month. He confirmed that such incitement programs lead to create tension among members of the same family because it raises controversial issues in a very radical ways.
Alshayeb said that “regional political transformations reflected negatively on the local society causing sever division pointing to the importance of protecting internal security from these developments in order to enhance national unity.
He also demanded for more popular participation especially for the marginalized sectors of the society such as women and youth.
Alshayeb raised the issues of developing civil society by enhancing legal environment and supporting different social initiatives in the country.
Participants praised the visitors and raised their concerns such as the need to preserve social peace and how to combat sectarianism.
/149
Source: Saudi Shia