SESRIC participated in the “Virtual Symposium on Youth Volunteering and Societal Responsibility”, which was organized virtually by the Ministry of Sports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 4 September 2023 to commemorate the OIC Youth Day.

The Symposium aimed at raising awareness of the importance of youth volunteering and societal responsibility in OIC member countries. Besides, the event was an opportunity to share experiences and initiatives of the relevant OIC institutions and member countries on their efforts to support and encourage youth volunteerism and social participation. Around 50 participants from OIC countries, General Secretariat and relevant OIC Institutions and civil society organisations attended the symposium. Dr. Cem TINTIN, Senior Researcher at the Economic and Social Research Department of SESRIC, attended the symposium on behalf of the SESRIC and delivered a detailed presentation on “Efforts of the OIC in the Field of Building Capacities of Youth and Enhancing their Participation”.

The event started with the welcoming remarks of Mr. Abdul Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman AL-MASSAD Undersecretary of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, representing Prince Abdul Azeez bin Turki AL-FAISAL, Minister of Sports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chair of the 5^th Session of the Islamic Ministerial Conference on Youth and Sports. The opening session went on with the video-recorded message of H.E. Tarig Ali BAKHEET, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian, Cultural, and Social Affairs of the OIC, representing H.E. Hissein Brahim TAHA, OIC Secretary General.

In the first working session, Mr. Fahd AL-QUMAI, Director General of Institutions, NGOs and Volunteer Affairs of the Ministry of Sports reviewed the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in voluntary work. In the second session, Mr. Ahmet DIKEN, Manager of the Women and Youth Empowerment Unit at the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), presented the efforts of the IsDB to support youth and volunteerism work in OIC member countries. In the third session, Dr. Cem TINTIN delivered his presentation and briefed the participants about the efforts of the OIC and its relevant institutions in the field of building capacities of youth and enhancing their participation. He also highlighted the importance of the OIC Youth Strategy, which provides guidance for member countries in developing youth policies and supporting youth volunteerism. During the last session, representatives from a number of NGOs working on youth volunteerism made interventions and shared their experiences. The event concluded with the closing remarks of Dr. Maiga BOUBAKARI, Director of the Department of Youth and Sports at the General Secretariat of the OIC. He thanked the participants especially SESRIC and IsDB for their active participation that enabled the OIC to celebrate the “OIC Youth Day” through holding this important symposium.