Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has stressed the importance of enhancing the sciences, culture and arts to contribute to promoting dialogue and interaction among nations, for the sake of a prosperous present and a better future for the coming generations, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Friday.

In a speech at the 40th UNESCO General Conference in Paris on Friday, Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan, minister of culture and head of the Kingdom’s delegation, said: “The Kingdom views culture in its general concept, considering it to be the most prominent basis for supporting the policies for human development, extending the bridges of understanding between societies. This is with the objective of creating a stronger world, in which the peoples are interlinked despite their cultural differences.

He stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to take part in joint work in UNESCO.

He added: “Culture and the arts in the Kingdom are considered to be among the most important pillars of national transformation via the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, whose goal is to contribute to building a vibrant society, a prosperous economy and an ambitious nation.”

He confirmed that the Kingdom is making big strides towards a more prosperous future via the ambitious Kingdom’s Vision 2030, launched by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, under the directive of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

Its effects have started appearing positively in several sectors, including education, culture and the arts.

Prince Badr reiterated the Kingdom’s determination to continue its march in strengthening joint work in UNESCO, achieve its message and the UN’s goals towards sustainable development 2030, which are in tandem with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision for the future, under the umbrella of collective work.

In his speech, he disclosed that arts of all kinds, including music, would be included in the university and school curricula. He said that the Kingdom has proved its efficiency and keenness to achieve the goals of joint work in UNESCO.

He further said: “From its position of responsibility as a UNESCO founder country, it contributed greatly to the UNESCO budget in 1984. It gave a generous donation of $20 million in 2011. It also announced its commitment to allocate $25 million to finance UNESCO’s strategic programs and its works for preserving heritage, by signing the letter of intent last July.”

He said: “The Kingdom believes that educating and training the young generations is the basis for any process of building, development and boosting culture in our societies, feeding them with the human values that we emphasize in our work through a more developed and open system to different cultures, as this will strengthen the social fabric and open the way to peace between nations.”

“We in Saudi Arabia strive to achieve this, in tandem with the UN goals of sustainable development, through our deep belief in the importance of the nonprofit partnership of this sector with other sectors, as it is a basic partner in development,” he said.

He referred to the Kingdom’s establishment of the National Center for Developing the Nonprofit Sector that aims to stimulate the role of the organizations in this sector and expanding it in the development fields.

He further said that the Ministry of Culture is working on developing and boosting the society’s participation in culture via an integrated plan that will stimulate participation such that it contributes to the development of culture and heritage.

This will provide the world with an opportunity to see closely the treasures of human civilizations and their secrets that have formed the societies and contributed to this cultural wealth we are proud of in our country and whose effects have spread to the continents of the world.

Prince Badr stressed the importance of the youth, considering them to be the element of great strength in translating the ambitions and hopes of their societies to a reality.

He said the process of empowering the youth in the Kingdom is continuing at a faster tempo, by creating environments conducive to enhancing their creativity in all fields, supporting them and unleashing their capabilities and encouraging and inspiring them in all that is related to building their nation, in partnership with the civil society organizations.

The minister confirmed the Kingdom’s continuous participation with the efficiency of the Saudi spirit in contributing, to benefit all and achieve the integrated pattern that we are all striving to achieve via the 2014–2021 UNESCO executive strategy for the youth. He lauded the Kingdom’s attention for artificial intelligence.

He referred to the setting up of a national authority concerned with artificial intelligence, as one of the outcomes of the fourth industrial revolution, which is the heart of future development.

He said that the Kingdom is set to host in March 2020 the World Summit for Artificial Intelligence, which will be an annual global forum for the exchange of expertise and experiences and striking partnerships between influential local and international authorities and companies in the domain of data and artificial intelligence, so as to place this sophisticated science at the service of the whole of mankind.

Prince Badr stressed the importance of transforming the visions to a reality. He reaffirmed to the whole world: “We are attending here with the intention of achieving success for the goals of this organization for the service of all, with cooperation and integration, hand in hand, for a better world.”