RIYADH: The 2023 Social Responsibility Forum launched on Wednesday at Riyadh’s InterContinental Hotel, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Representatives from the public and private sectors, company CEOs as well as heads of local authorities and organizations are taking part in the event.

The support of the Kingdom’s leadership in promoting social responsibility was lauded in a speech by Saudi Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development Majid bin Abdul Rahim bin Salem Al-Ghanmi.

He noted that the Saudi Council of Ministers will mark March 23 as an annual Day of Social Responsibility in the Kingdom for the first time this year.

The association’s CEO, Abdullah Al-Muhanna, said that the forum will also tackle the Kingdom’s experience of social responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as ways to incorporate the private and nonprofit sectors in promoting civic duties.

Saud Al-Subaie, chairman of the association’s board of directors, stressed the importance of bridging the gap between the public, private and nonprofit sectors in promoting social responsibility to achieve sustainable development.

“It is very important to achieve sustainable development in social responsibility, rooting social work in a framework, conducting research and scientific studies, in addition to spreading public awareness about social responsibility issues and monitoring social responsibility experiences with the relevant authorities,” Al-Subaie told Arab News.

“Partnerships between active institutions in the three sectors are due to be signed in relation to the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in the social responsibility sector,” he added.

Al-Subaie praised the private sector’s growing interest in its “internal and external environment,” including the long-term strategy of Saudization.

Following the forum’s launch, a documentary film was screened covering the Social Responsibility Association’s history, goals and achievements.