Salalah: Al Roya newspaper, in collaboration with the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, hosted a social innovation conference in Salalah today.
The opening ceremony took place under the authority of HH Sayyid Marwan Turki Al Said, Governor of Dhofar.
Hatim Hamad Al Taie, editor-in-chief of Al Roya newspaper, delivered a speech emphasizing the significance of ethical responsibility while using artificial intelligence (AI). In his speech, he underlined the need to strike a balance between innovation and privacy, ensure the fair use of data, and apply transparency principles.
Al Taie also urged organizations to include responsible AI usage models into their corporate social responsibility programs.
Following the address, Dr. Youssef Abdel Ghaffar, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, read the conference statement.
Dr. Youssef emphasized the significance of developing national rules that encourage social innovation, fostering links between the commercial sector and youth, establishing digital platforms to showcase new social solutions, improving training, and empowering young leaders.
He described Nama Company's experience in the Sultanate of Oman, where it implemented 150 creative social projects in three years.
He also mentioned Feena Khair, an initiative in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that helped over 500,000 children as part of a campaign to encourage volunteering and active citizenship.
Mohammed Bakhit Al Shahri, a representative of the Dhofar office of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), emphasized Oman Vision 2040, which, he claimed, promotes innovation as a foundation for a sustainable knowledge economy.
Al Shahri emphasized the need of encouraging entrepreneurs and innovators and connecting good ideas with investment opportunities through strategic collaborations.
Eng. Hamid Abdullah Al Abdali, Oman Broadband Company's General Manager of supply networks, discussed the company's efforts to support self-employment and educate job seekers on fibreoptic networking.
Al Abdali stated that the company's initiatives included launching a new program to promote local value creation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a total expenditure of around RO 36 million.
The conference focused on three primary themes. The first was titled Arab Youth: From Initiative to Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. The second theme emphasized on empowering youngsters to participate in social innovation, while the third addressed the role of institutions and organizations in enabling youth to engage in social innovation.
The conference also included eight working papers, several presentations, a panel discussion, and three training workshops titled: "Using AI in innovation to enhance community projects; Using inspiration economy to empower youth to address social challenges; and Designing innovative community initiatives. "
