Saudi Minister of Culture, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission (LPTC) Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, met with Saudi scholarship students in the Manga Production Foundations Program at his residence in Tokyo on Saturday.
This specialized training program, organized in collaboration between the commission and Manga Productions, a subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk), aims to nurture talented manga artists through professional training rooted in Japanese techniques, the birthplace of this art form.
During the meeting, Prince Badr emphasized the Saudi leadership's unwavering support for developing human capabilities across all fields, highlighting the importance of academic and professional training in cultural disciplines.
The meeting was attended by CEO of LPTC Dr. Mohammed Hasan Alwan, CEO of Manga Productions Essam Amanullah Bukhari, and students studying manga art at Kadokawa Contents Academy (KCA), one of Japan’s leading institutions for training and recruiting talent in manga creation.
The program includes virtual workshops, an intensive training course, and overseas training in Japan. It has also launched competitions blending manga with Saudi cultural themes, such as "Munjanha," which transforms Arabic proverbs into manga stories; "Manga Al-Qaseed," which adapts Arabic poems into manga; and "Manga Al-Ibil," which celebrates the cultural symbolism of camels in Saudi Arabia.
The program has benefited over 1,850 participants through virtual workshops, with 115 advancing to the intensive training phase, resulting in the creation of 115 manga stories. Among these, 21 students were sent to Japan for advanced training. The competitions garnered significant engagement, receiving 133 submissions for "Munjanha," over 70 for "Manga Al-Qaseed," and more than 50 for "Manga Al-Ibil."
