Saudi ‘Alhasalah’ Social Initiative Ranks First in King Khalid Development Partners Award

Prince Faisal bin Khalid, the emir of Asir and chairman of King Khalid Award Committee, during the announcement of the winners | Asharq Al-Awsat
Prince Faisal bin Khalid, the emir of Asir and chairman of King Khalid Award Committee, during the announcement of the winners | Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi ‘Alhasalah’ Social Initiative Ranks First in King Khalid Development Partners Award

Prince Faisal bin Khalid, the emir of Asir and chairman of King Khalid Award Committee, during the announcement of the winners | Asharq Al-Awsat
Prince Faisal bin Khalid, the emir of Asir and chairman of King Khalid Award Committee, during the announcement of the winners | Asharq Al-Awsat

The world’s childhood must-have “Alhasalah” (Arabic for piggy bank) has transformed through Saudi community efforts into an initiative for raising awareness on monetary management, investment and savings.
Alhasala initiative won first place in the King Khalid Development Partners Award.

Saad Al Hamoudi, who founded the initiative back in 2009, explains that it is one of the most important Saudi voluntary works when it comes to raising the public’s monetary awareness and promoting savings and rationalization of consumption.

Those two principles are in line with the Kingdom's national transformation program Kingdom Vision 2030.

The initiative aims to increase savings of individuals and families by 6 to 10 percent, Hamoudi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Alhasala initiative is active in various social networks, in addition to setting up countless workshops and exhibitions with a grassroots audience.”

“Over 3,000 children have been trained so that young people can get used to saving since childhood,” he added.

According to Hamoudi, some 800 men and women were trained on raising awareness about family saving plans and cost-cutting.

At least 40 informative videos simplifying fiscal management were released in different languages by Alhasala’s team.

Asked about the future plan of the initiative, Hamoudi reveals hopes for going fully into e-training so that the program reaches more people, and possibly regionally.

Awareness podcasts and films are covered by the initiative as well.

Prince Faisal bin Khalid, of the Asir region and chairman of the King Khalid Award Committee, announced that the initiative won 42 percent of the total votes in a mass email voting mechanism through the King Khalid Foundation website.

He said that the Foundation embraced prosperity by activating the role of the development partners, as well as empowering them through social investment and building capabilities to ensure the emergence of a Saudi community with equal opportunities.

There are intentions to expand the competition for the award beyond Saudi borders to include fellow countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, he added.

“Adam Campaign” came in second place with 29 percent of the total votes. Launched in 2014, the initiative raises public awareness, among youth in particular, on coexistence and tolerance with the objective of curbing racism and extreme practices and emboldening the creation of inclusive and peaceful societies.



French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to Asharq Al-Awsat: Military Option Ineffective in Israel-Iran Conflict 

French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to Asharq Al-Awsat: Military Option Ineffective in Israel-Iran Conflict 

French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave said Paris believes that military intervention will not resolve the “problem” over Iran’s nuclear program.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said such a solution was “ineffective” because it cannot completely eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge or ensure the complete destruction of all of its nuclear facilities.

Moreover, he warned against attempts to change the Iranian regime from the outside, saying it may have dire consequences, such as the collapse of the state, civil war, instability, regional conflicts, migration crises and raise terrorism threat levels.

This instability may also impact the security of the Gulf region and extend to Europe as well, he warned.

Damage to Iran’s nuclear sites may lead to dangerous radiation in the region that may spread to other regions, including Gulf waters, he went on to say.

Furthermore, military intervention will pose major dangers to regional stability, the security of France’s partners and allies in the region, and the Hormuz Strait. It may lead to attacks on American military bases and energy infrastructure, warned Maisonnave.

A diplomatic solution is the best way forward, he stressed, explaining that it will lead to a viable and permanent solution that enjoys international backing. This solution must tackle technical issues, such as enrichment levels. It also averts the grave consequences of military escalation.

A diplomatic solution must ensure that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are allowed to tour nuclear facilities at any time and without prior notice, he added.

This is the path that France chose in the past and that it believes is the best way to reach a permanent and peaceful solution, he stressed.

At the same time, the ambassador acknowledged that the Iranian nuclear program was a dangerous threat to French and European security interests, as well as to countries of the Gulf given its potential to destabilize the region and the “security of our allies”.

This concern deepened after IAEA inspectors were for years unable to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, he remarked.

France and European countries are very concerned that the program was not designed with purely civilian purposes, Maisonnave said.