Asharqia Chamber to Launch 2026 Endowment Practices Forum on Sunday, Featuring 24 Speakers

Asharqia Chamber, represented by its Social Responsibility Center, will launch the “2026 Endowment Practices Forum” next Sunday, November 15, 2026, under the patronage of HRH Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province. The forum will be held at the Chamber’s headquarters under the title “Legislation That Supports the Growth and Disbursement of Endowments.” It will feature the Governor of the General Authority for Awqaf, Imad bin Saleh Al-Kharashi, and a distinguished group of local and international specialists and experts, alongside 24 speakers discussing the current state of the endowment sector and its prospects for development.

The forum is being organized as part of Asharqia Chamber’s commitment to strengthening the endowment sector’s role in sustainable development and creating broader pathways to develop its legislative and regulatory framework. This will be achieved by showcasing experiences and practices that help improve the efficiency of endowment management, grow endowment assets, and expand their developmental and social impact.

Chairman of Asharqia Chamber’s Board of Directors, Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Farraj, expressed his appreciation for the patronage of the Governor of the Eastern Province and his continued support for the Chamber’s programs and initiatives. He noted that this patronage reflects His Highness’s commitment to encouraging development and community initiatives and strengthening the Chamber’s role in serving the business sector and the community. He added that His Highness’s support encourages the continued launch of high-quality programs that contribute to sustainable development and strengthen partnerships among the public, private, and non-profit sectors in a way that meets the aspirations of the Eastern Province and the goals of national development.

Al-Farraj emphasized that the forum is an important opportunity to highlight the transformations taking place in the endowment sector and the opportunities offered by modern legislation to develop its operations and enhance its efficiency. He noted that the growth of endowments is not measured solely by an increase in their assets, but also by the quality of their management, the effectiveness of their disbursements, and their ability to achieve a lasting impact.

Al-Farraj said that the current stage calls for advancing endowment work to more professional levels, based on clear regulatory frameworks, the adoption of governance and transparency practices, and more efficient management of endowment investments. These measures will ensure the sustainability of endowment resources and maximize their contribution to serving the community. He emphasized that coordination among legislative and regulatory bodies and the private and non-profit sectors is essential to achieving these goals.

He added that Asharqia Chamber is paying increasing attention to the endowment sector, reflecting its belief in the sector’s importance as a partner in economic and social development. The Chamber is also committed to providing platforms that bring together specialists and experts to exchange views, discuss challenges, and develop practices that improve the sector’s efficiency and broaden its impact in line with Vision 2030.

For his part, Chairman of Asharqia Chamber’s Endowments Committee, Dr. Ayed bin Farhan Al-Qahtani, explained that the development taking place in the endowment sector calls for legislative and regulatory measures that enable endowments to take on broader developmental and economic roles. He noted that the coming period will require making use of available investment opportunities, improving asset management methods, and diversifying endowment disbursement channels.

Al-Qahtani noted that stronger partnerships among government entities, the private sector, and the non-profit sector can help overcome the challenges facing endowments, improve the efficiency of their investments, and direct their resources toward a wider range of development areas. This will strengthen their presence in the national economy and keep pace with development aspirations.

The forum will cover topics including the concept of disbursement and the role of legislation in improving its effectiveness and efficiency; implementing endowers’ conditions in disbursement; innovation, integration, and digital transformation to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of disbursement; and operational challenges and the sustainability of disbursement across generations and borders. It will also discuss best practices in governance, management, and investment, and showcase experiences that can help develop the endowment sector’s operating framework.