Business & Money | Monday 7 January, 2019 2:35 am |

The activities of Saudi Salam (Peace) Forum kicked off in Riyadh on Sunday evening with a call to further foster the concepts of co-existence and build bridges of communication between the Saudi society and the societies around the world.

Several innovative Saudi youngsters from the cultural and intellectual realms and humanitarian work are attending interactive sessions along with prominent young foreign figures, who are associated with Saudi Arabia in the fields of culture, heritage, arts and history, at event.

The two-day forum is organized by the Peace for Cultural Communication Project at the Conference Center of the Saudi Press Agency headquarters.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Fahd Al-Sultan, executive director of the project, said that the project was established in 2015 in order to enhance cultural communication and analyze the reality of the stereotype image of the Kingdom, as well as to bridge bonds of communication between the Saudi society and other communities in accordance with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The inaugural ceremony witnessed distribution of prizes for winners of the Salam Prize for Short Films Competition. Five films, which were chosen for prizes from among 50 films, were also screened on the occasion. “A Sand Grain in the Middle of Snow” bagged the first prize while the film “Saudi Ambassador” secured second prize. The films “So We Are”; “All in One Land” and the “Vision 2030” have won the third, fourth and fifth prizes respectively. The prize money carries a total amount of SR150,000.

The competition is aimed at encouraging talented Saudi youth who are interested in the production of films on YouTube. This is part of promoting the concepts of coexistence, mutual respect, and building bridges of cultural communication with others, especially between the foreign scholarship students and the people of the countries where they are pursuing their higher studies.

A dialogue session titled “Stories of Peace” is another highlight of the forum. Young leaders from Saudi Arabia as well as from Japan, Brazil, United States and Colombia, who are interested in the culture of the Kingdom as well as its heritage and history, are taking part in the event. They will share, in a heart-to-heart dialogue, their experiences in the Kingdom and how they coexist with the Saudi people.

The Brazilian professional player of Al-Qadisiya Club Elton Jose, who has lived in the Kingdom for 10 years and established a football academy in Brazil, titled “Saudi Arabia” is one among them. Other speakers in the session and their topics include Gustavo Perez (Colombia and Saudi Arabia cultural coexistence); Todd Nims (Saudi movies through an American vision); Shams Alsabi (Volunteering and cultural communication); Ryu Ishkawa (Sakura Riyadh); Saud Al-Eidi (Journey in search for man); Nada Shoaib (Egyptian with Saudi spirit); Razan Al-Aqeel (Saudi women in the United Nations) and Mutah Beale (An American makes coffee for Saudis).