(MENAFN - Arab News) Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will open the forum for productive families in the Makkah region at Jeddah Hilton on May 5. There will also be a national exhibition for productive families on the sidelines of the three-day event, according to Saleh Kamel, chairman of the board of directors of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The forum, to be organized by the chamber, will discuss 16 topics in four working sessions. There will be 24 workshops concerning products made by productive families. Kamel commended Prince Khaled's keenness in supporting productive families in the region. "The governor has been playing a pioneering role in boosting the contributions of productive families. Their products are going to become a strong support to the nation's economy in the near future," he said.
The Jeddah chamber organized the first forum for productive families in the Kingdom in 2009 with full backing of the governor. Prior to organizing the forum, the Makkah governorate had set out a working program for productive families.
Prince Khaled disclosed the government's plan to implement the program at a national level. The governor also noted that a woman in Makkah had presented the idea of productive families in 2008.
Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency, Kamel said the major highlight of the forum and exhibition would be the strategic significance of the concept of productive families in spurring economic growth.
"The forum would explore the prospect of taking advantage of successful experiments of developed countries in this respect. It will also review the vast avenues open in front of Saudi productive families, and the efforts of international community in highlighting the concept of productive families," he said.
According to Kamel, the forum would spell out the role of public sector firms, leading private companies and chambers of commerce and industry in supporting productive families, and it would come out with proposals aimed at launching unified national initiatives to support efforts of productive families.
Ahmad Al-Hamdan, chairman of the board of directors of Jeddah's Social Responsibility Council, said the forum's first session would discuss the theme of "Strategic significance of the productive family concept in the modern and global economies."
Themes of other sessions include the "Concept of productive family in the Kingdom: Reality, challenges, available opportunities and future visions," "Role of the public and private sectors in supporting productive families in the Kingdom," and "Launching national initiatives to strengthen the concept of productive family through computers and Internet so as to enable the families to take advantage of e-business."
