Opinion academy to counter misinformation about Kingdom

The Academy of Dialogue for Training and Polls, is a major center for public opinion surveys in Saudi Arabia, and part of King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND), will help gather accurate information about the Saudi society.
Misleading information is circulated in the international media regarding life in the Kingdom and the Saudi society. Consequently, the academy has been established to counteract these allegations and present information that is accurate and neutral.
Abdullah Al-Saqhan, director general of training at KACND, said that the academy receives much support from the center to be able to reach various sectors of the society. In addition, the center helps the academy in disseminating a culture of dialogue that stresses values of tolerance, understanding and acceptance of the other.
Abdullah Naseef, chairman of the Islamic World Conference, said, “The academy is playing an important role because there are no public opinion survey centers in the Kingdom. There are no specialized institutions that offers accurate and neutral information about the Saudi society.”
“The academy is a reliable body that will present objective analyzes to the parties concerned and will help the Saudi government reach accurate decisions that are based on facts,” he added.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Al-Sulami, chairman of the Jeddah Cultural Club, said, “This a long overdue initiative and we are in dire need of a responsible body that can contribute to the process of accurate decision-making. Opinion polls are essential in all countries because they are based on a systematic methodology that delivers important indicators about the community.”