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empowerment, and reaching out to marginalized and
excluded groups, are hence key factors in any future peace-
building scenarios.
Guiding questions were: What kind of relationship could
be established between volunteering and youth employment
in the future? What could the concrete elements of a new,
intergenerational pact be in this regard? How could we ensure
that it contributes to peace?
The fourth workshop was entitled ‘Cultural Diversity and
Intercultural Dialogue in Inclusive Societies’. Its point of depar-
ture was that social transformations are giving rise to new
challenges of deepening inequality, exclusion and even tensions
within societies, as globalization brings people with different
cultures ever closer together. From this perspective, volunteering
and especially youth volunteering can be a way to forge a connec-
tion between a rapidly developing world on the one hand, and
enhanced mutual understanding and cooperation on the other.
Guiding questions were: How can we ensure that dialogue
leads to inclusiveness?What would be the core principles under-
lying such an endeavour?What are the linkages between cultural
diversity and inclusivity; are they always mutually reinforcing?
The theme of the fifth and last workshop was: ‘The Role of
Information and Communications Technologies in Promoting
Volunteering and Responsible Citizenship’. Focus was on the
rapid expansion of digital communication and virtual social
platforms and their strong influence on volunteering actions in
the past years. ICTs have encouraged unprecedented connec-
tion and given strength to the voices of youth seeking to
articulate their desire for participatory democratic processes
and civic engagement, both at the national and global level.
Guiding questions were: What is the impact of ICTs in the
different areas of volunteering? In which ways can/do they
encourage responsible, local and global citizenship?
The way forward
The JeddahConference built on the experience gained fromprevi-
ous international conferences such as ‘Fostering Dialogue among
Cultures and Civilizations through Concrete and Sustainable
Initiatives’ (Rabat, Morocco 2005), and ‘The Copenhagen Agenda
on Education for Intercultural Understanding and Dialogue’
(Copenhagen, Denmark 2008). It further drew directly upon the
Saudi Arabian experience with youth volunteering and dialogue,
as experienced in four international conferences held in China
(2010), Brazil (2011), Germany (2011) and India (2012).
In Jeddah, these positive developments were pursued and
explored through the enthusiasm and willingness of the
youth participants to initiate and/or reinforce their interna-
tional volunteer networks. The youth expressed a strong wish
to maintain the momentum created during the conference.
Many of them also applauded the initiative to gather young
participants from different countries, and cultural and social
backgrounds, with a view to sharing their experiences about
their practical, daily involvement in volunteering.
Since then, the participants have initiated new, or expanded
existing, networks, while also highlighting the importance of
receiving support from international organizations such as
UNESCO, in particular with regard to the creation of mean-
ingful spaces for youth encounters.
Volunteering should be recognized as a powerful and
universal resource and as a vital component of the social
capital of every country. It has a potential to make a difference
in responding to many of today’s complex global challenges
with the active participation of young women and men
contributing to peace and sustainable development.
This was one of the key messages that the youth partici-
pants set out in the Jeddah Youth Declaration adopted at the
conclusion of the conference.
Dialogue among governments, corporate leaders, civil society organizations and the public, with the active participation of youth, can help promote good
governance and accountability
Image: Min. of Edu., KSA
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