JEDDAH — The 7th annual meet and thematic conference of the Center for Information and Guidance India (CIGI) International will begin in Jeddah on Friday. Veteran journalist Khaled Almaeena will be the guest of honor at the opening session of the two-day conference with the theme “Driving Toward Excellence.” It is the first time the Jeddah chapter is hosting the annual meet of CIGI, an NGO based in the southern Indian city of Calicut that has made pioneering achievements in social transformation, especially in areas of career guidance and educational empowerment among backward communities in the country. Leaders from CIGI's headquarters in Calicut as well as its 10 international chapters will attend the conference, said Ashraff A.M, president of the Jeddah chapter. Dignitaries who will address the opening session include L. Ram Narayan Iyer, executive editor of Saudi Gazette, and Syed Masood Ahmed, principal of International Indian School Jeddah. CIGI President Abdul Salam P.A. will preside over the function and P.M. Ameerali, chairman of CIGI International, will welcome the gathering. The conference will be a major milestone in the history of CIGI, which is striving to empower the Muslim community to play a vibrant role in the nation building process, said Mustafa K.M., adviser to CIGI's Jeddah chapter.
