The Director of Civil Defense in Makkah Region, Major General Salim bin Marzuq Al-Mutrafi, inaugurated the ceremony organized by the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Makkah, in collaboration with Umm Al-Qura University, on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day on Thursday, under the slogan, "Volunteer Together... for an Ambitious Vision", in King Abdul Aziz Historical Hall. This took place in the presence of His Excellency Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, President of Umm Al-Qura University.

The ceremony was attended by a number of government agencies and volunteer teams in the field of civil defense work. The participants toured the exhibition that was held on this occasion.

The ceremony began with a recitation of the Qur'an. Next, the General Director of Civil Defense, Brigadier Abdullah bin Eid Al-Qurashi, stressed the importance of voluntary work and its role in building the human being, as well as its importance in achieving comprehensive development in the society as a whole, each individual within his own capacity.

The participating government, civil and voluntary authorities were honored during the ceremony.

On his part, Al-Matrafi said, "This occasion has been held to emphasize the importance of volunteering and its implication as a noble humanitarian value, and to encourage giving and active participation in building, serving, and improving the social aspects.

He added, "Based on the objectives of Vision 2030, organized voluntary work seeks to increase the effectiveness of voluntary efforts and the number of volunteers, in order to make use of the expertise and capabilities of the people in the community, and enable them to contribute to building the society."