Riyadh | BETH

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs concluded the first edition of the Islamic Values Forum in Riyadh, held under the patronage of Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Riyadh Region, with broad participation from government entities and non-profit organizations. The forum marked a strategic shift toward moving values from moral discourse to measurable institutional impact.

Held under the theme “Enduring Values for a Better Life,” the forum comes amid a wider national effort to reframe the role of values in strengthening identity, promoting moderation, and embedding ethical frameworks across education, media, and quality-of-life programs.

Key Recommendations | What Changes in the Values Approach

▪️ A unified national values framework
Adopt a unified national framework to integrate Islamic and national values into public policies, education, and media—ensuring consistent messaging and long-term impact.

▪️ A national index to measure values impact
Develop a national index to measure values-based impact across education, media, and community work, linked to clear performance indicators to enable continuous improvement and assess developmental returns.

▪️ Capacity-building for values influencers
Launch specialized training programs for preachers, educators, media professionals, and influencers to equip them with tools of values-driven influence and translate principles into effective social practices.

▪️ Professional standards for values-based media
Enhance the quality of values-oriented media by enabling professionals to manage campaigns and messaging within professional methodologies and clear ethical frameworks—strengthening credibility and reducing emotionalized, unstructured narratives.

▪️ Digital innovation and AI for values content
Leverage digital innovation and AI to produce and disseminate values-driven content, converting workshop outputs into scalable, measurable initiatives with sustainable impact.

▪️ Government integration and sustainable partnerships
Strengthen cross-government coordination and build institutional partnerships with the non-profit sector and donors to ensure continuity and scale of values initiatives.

▪️ Showcasing the Saudi model globally
Document and present the Saudi experience in moderation, Hajj security, and advanced public services as a global model for integrating Islamic values with sustainable development and digital transformation.

BETH Conclusion
The forum’s significance lies not in the volume of recommendations, but in reframing values as a policy-driven, measurable agenda. If executed with institutional rigor, this shift can move values from moral rhetoric to tangible developmental impact across society.