Engineer Ahmed bin Suleiman Al-Rajhi, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, sponsored the activities of Saudi and Global Volunteer Day 2023 on Tuesday, December 5, in Riyadh. The event, organized by the ministry for the fourth consecutive year under the slogan "Giving to the Nation," also saw the honoring of winners of the National Volunteer Work Award in its third edition. The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries, ministers, and leaders from government, private, and non-profit sectors.

The celebration aims to contribute to achieving one of the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, reaching one million volunteers. It also aligns with the strategic goals of the National Transformation Program in encouraging volunteer work and involves international community participation in highlighting the efforts of volunteers, motivating all segments of society to participate in various volunteer initiatives.

During the event, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development stated in his speech that, "as an extension of the ministry's efforts to achieve the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, specifically reaching one million volunteers by 2025, the ministry is working towards this goal through the collective efforts of our volunteers and collaboration with all relevant sectors."

Al-Rajhi revealed some volunteer statistics, indicating that the number of volunteers in the current year 2023 reached 725,744, contributing through 427,481 volunteer opportunities provided by the National Volunteer Work Platform. They dedicated a total of 44,379,811 volunteer hours, benefiting over 64 million beneficiaries.

Furthermore, Al-Rajhi announced the launch of the volunteering standard in the private sector and inaugurated the Saudi Volunteer League. He expressed gratitude to volunteers for their outstanding contributions of time and effort, as well as appreciation for partners across sectors for their contributions to achieving these successes and overcoming obstacles in the path of sustainable volunteer work.

The program of the ceremony included success stories from beneficiaries of the "Volunteer with Your Expertise" initiative, as well as others from regular volunteer work. Visual presentations showcased volunteer achievements from 2015 to 2023, and the winners of the National Volunteer Work Award were announced. The event concluded with a creative presentation on volunteering. In the closing ceremony, Minister Al-Rajhi presented awards to the winners of the Volunteer Work Award, with the General Secretariat announcing the names of individual, organizational, and institutional winners.

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