Engineer Salman Al Baiz, Executive Director

Engineer Salman Al Baiz, Executive Director of the Granada Commercial Center,

"The Center Holds a Prominent Position in Society and is Dedicated to Economic Values That Will Bring Forth a Truly Comprehensive Business Concept"

 
Riyadh – Muhammad Al Husaini

The Head of the Committee for Commercial Centers at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Granada Commercial Center, Engineer Salman bin Abdul Rahman Al Baiz, revealed the growth of the social role of the center, and the increasing number of social events taking place within the center in order to confirm the social role of the Center within the Kingdom, pointing out that the last two years have seen a variety of  events, that in general, were aimed at keeping up with the latest developments that have taken place with regards to the long term cultural and societal development of the Kingdom.

Engineer Al Baiz said the year of 2010 at the Granada Center witnessed the organization of more than 83 social events consisting of educational, cultural and health-awareness activities. The organization of these activities was finalized with the assistance of a multitude of government and private organizations such as, the Saudi Ministry of Health, the Saudi Armed Forces Hospital, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, the Saudi Society for Respiratory Care, the Saudi Cancer Society, and the Saudi Anti-Smoking Society, the Saudi Ophthalmological Society, and others.

The Center also hosted "awareness days" such as, World "White Cane" Day organized by the Charitable Association for the Blind, the fifteenth International Day for Diabetes under the banner "Control your Condition" organized by King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, the World Mental Health Day under the banner "Take My Hand and Share Life With Me" organized by the Saudi Ministry of Social Affairs, and the World Stroke Day organized by the Saudi Stroke Association; all of which, confirm the major role that the Granada Center is playing in Saudi society, and the attention it is paying to keeping up with the expectations of visitors to the Center. Additionally, it confirms the attentiveness of the Granada Center Administration to the implementation of the directives of the officials of the General Organization for Social Insurance, which is the official owner of the center, by facilitating and providing accommodations for charitable and social contributions within the city of Riyadh.
The year of 2011 also witnessed many unique events and activities, the height of which took place during the summer of 1432 at the shopping and entertainment festival, in which the Award for Distinguished Tourism Activities in 2011 was given to the Center for being "the best shopping experience", as a result of its numerous activities, along with the presence of a large majority of the big name companies and exhibitors, which in turn, contributed to the increased the enthusiasm level of the crowds that attended. The Center's most prominent achievement has been its ability offer a variety of incentives for visitors from across the country to come to the Center, which include: the unique selection of commercial brands available at the center, operating the Center at the highest standards possible, providing a multitude of choices for shopping and entertainment; all of which, gives the impression that the center was truly established to create an atmosphere of enjoyment for all its visitors and that the center's administration is constantly working to fulfill the desires of all the visitors and shoppers alike, who come from all classes and sectors of society. These events also point to the strengthening of the position of the Granada Center within Saudi society and how it is helping to spread joy, happiness and hope amongst the members of this diverse society, as well as stimulate commercial and recreational activity. During the festival the center achieved an increase in the total number of visitors to 1,076,231 visitors, which at that time was a record never before achieved by any commercial center in the Kingdom.

On the social level, the Center's management sponsored a number of activities and events that amounted to approximately 82 events. They included educational, cultural, health related and entertainment events in collaboration with various organizations such as: King Saud University, the Saudi Charity for Autism Families, King Saud bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, and the Saudi Disabled Children's Association; additionally, the Saudi Ophthalmological Society presented a lecture on the children's eye diseases along with methods of prevention. Similarly, the center witnessed the placement of temporary men's and women's facilities for carrying out free eye scans, as well as awareness campaigns such as the one held by the University Center for Diabetes for the purpose of providing information about diabetes and as an extension of the celebration of World Diabetes Day. The Granada Center also was also witness to the celebration of Saudi Arabia's Independence Day in collaboration with the Saudi Charity for Autism Families and the Saudi Schizophrenia Charity Association. The celebration was attended by 80 children with their families, and was a unique activity interspersed with lectures, beautiful poems and meaningful talks, which included the participation of some Saudi Actors in order to put joy and happiness into the hearts of autistic children. The Executive Director of the Center pointed out that the end of last year witnessed the International Day of People with Disabilities under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman, Chairman of the Administration Board for the Saudi Disabled Children's Association, along with the patronage of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali Al Sabah. The events included plays that shed light on disabilities and the role of the society in terms of how it can embrace this particular group of individuals living within it; additionally, a number of performing arts exhibitions and cultural competitions also took place at this important event.