"To meet the social need and to achieve the goals of the Kingdom 2030 vision, which aims to reach one million volunteers by enhancing the skills of volunteers for excellence and innovation in volunteer work."
On Tuesday, February 13, 2024, the Department of General Subjects at the College of Science and Humanities held a scientific meeting entitled “Volunteer Work: Innovation and Visions”. That took place in the presence of the college dean, Dr. Dalal Alshanqiti, college vice deans, department heads, faculty members, and college students. The meeting was also attended by a number of employees of the Civil Development Association in Jubail (Tawasul), the Wahaj Women’s Charitable Society, employees of the Industrial University College in Jubail, employees of the College of Applied Medical Sciences, and a delegation of teachers. The Public Education Department at the Royal Commission in Jubail attended as well as Mr. Faisal Al-Fawzan, the representative of the Education Department and Scientific Activity.
The meeting was started by Dr. Fatima Mubaraki’s opening speech stating the objectives of the meeting "To meet the social need and to achieve the goals of the Kingdom 2030 vision, which aims to reach one million volunteers by enhancing the skills of volunteers for excellence and innovation in volunteer work to design effective and inspiring volunteer initiatives that reflect society’s awareness and giving with professionalism and empowerment without limits.” Then, the Head of the General Subjects Department, Dr. Ghazwa Al-Enezi stated “Volunteer work is highly important for individuals and communities to provide inspiration and creativity and as a bridge between the individual and society, as it provides an opportunity for the individual to develop his environment effectively and find new creative solutions to problems. It also enhances missed opportunities and turns them into opportunities that enhance growth and prosperity.”
The meeting included two main areas, Volunteer Work and Innovation. Mr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Ghanim Al-Dosari, Dean of the Technical College in Wadi Al-Dawasir and President of the Tanami Association, spoke about what is volunteering, who is the volunteer, why we volunteer, and does volunteering benefit the volunteer personally or the beneficiary. He also explained the mental image of a volunteer with its four stages: serving the beneficiary, developing into the beneficiary’s satisfaction, making the beneficiary happy, and impressing the beneficiary. He then explained how stereotypes of volunteer work developed in society and discussed the relationship of innovation to volunteering. Professor Ali addressed some misconceptions in society and clarified the positive return for the volunteer, as well as the features of innovation in volunteer work. He mentioned many forms of volunteering and clarified that innovation in volunteering and volunteer programs is a decision, not a choice, due to several issues. He concluded with recommendations, the most important of them being that innovation in volunteer work reduces waste and maximizes impact.
The second area of the meeting (Innovation) was presented by Mr. Mohammed Al-Mansour, a teacher and trainer certified by the Innovation Authority. He spoke about innovation as a concept and about the motives of innovation, which are many, including finding solutions to the problems and challenges that face us in life, obtaining luxury in living, and obtaining benefits. He also explained the goal of innovation, and its nature being hereditary or acquired. Mr. Mohammed
also highlighted the four main types of innovation and its steps, tools for identifying problems, generating creative ideas, and tools for evaluation and analysis. He concluded by some recommendations, including spreading the culture of innovation among all members of society and learning innovation methods and strategies and applying them in practice.
The meeting concluded by mentioning the most important recommendations, and by thanking and honoring those who participated in the meeting.
