KUWAIT: Voluntary
work is a collection of ethics, principles and values that encourage goodwill
activities that go beyond self-benefit to reach others, Chairman of the Kuwait
Society for Education Establishments Dr Faisal Al-Enezi said. Enezi was
speaking during the opening of a conference and exhibition of voluntary work at
Jumeirah Hotel under the patronage of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement
of Sciences (KFAS).

He said the
importance of voluntary work comes out of a social and economic approach to
contribute to moving the individual forward. "Volunteering urges the
adoption of initiatives that enable the individual to contribute and provide
them with an activity to spend their spare time and benefit themselves and the
society at the same time," he noted. He added that it is important to
educate both the individual and society on the importance of voluntary work and
its positive effects.

"Voluntary
work has many features including having volunteers gaining field and
administrative experience and employing human energy to serve the society
through forming work teams for self-development in various aspects that benefit
the volunteers and the society," Enezi added. He said voluntary work forms
one of the society's development measures and reveals the extent of its
awareness and interaction with various issues, besides being a form of
political participation between the individual and decision maker.

Enezi said
advanced societies are more caring and celebrate voluntary work, which has now
become a basic resource for sustainable development and reflects the citizen's
awareness of its role in the advancement of their country. He said the aim
behind the conference is to project voluntary work and show what the Kuwaiti
society presents to civil society organizations, whether the public or private
sectors, which covers all contributions presented by voluntary teams under the
administration of the social affairs ministry, NGOs, societies and unions.

By Abdellatif
Sharaa