Saudi Arabia: Royal Commission for AlUla Signs Partnership with French Sorbonne

The agreement aims to build capacities, exchange knowledge, and establish integrated systems for research, training, and information sharing. SPA
The agreement aims to build capacities, exchange knowledge, and establish integrated systems for research, training, and information sharing. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: Royal Commission for AlUla Signs Partnership with French Sorbonne

The agreement aims to build capacities, exchange knowledge, and establish integrated systems for research, training, and information sharing. SPA
The agreement aims to build capacities, exchange knowledge, and establish integrated systems for research, training, and information sharing. SPA

The Royal Commission for AlUla has entered into a partnership agreement with Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University to establish the Jaussen and Savignac Center for Archaeological Research in AlUla and Paris, alongside a named chair to foster academic excellence and archaeological research.

This collaboration aligns with efforts to implement the comprehensive development plan for AlUla and deepen cooperation with leading institutions in culture, heritage, and education.

The agreement aims to build capacities, exchange knowledge, and establish integrated systems for research, training, and information sharing, documenting 200,000 years of human history in one of the world's largest archaeological reference libraries.

It seeks to develop cooperation in scientific studies and the fields of tourism, archaeology, history, and arts, contributing to AlUla's growth journey and cementing its position as the world's largest living museum and a global center for culture and heritage.

The partnership includes holding an annual symposium that provides a collaborative environment for academics, students, and Ph.D. candidates, encouraging dialogue among various disciplines and cultures, in addition to offering a master's program in archaeology and the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage.



Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)

In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nikos Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honored with inclusion in UNESCO's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.

Their pottery is among the last in the Mediterranean to be produced from clay in local soil, using a traditional kiln with olive pits as fuel, with the pieces painted with natural lime.

"It's an honor for me," Kouvdis said with regard to the UNESCO recognition of his work.

He said a mechanized press can work at 10 times the speed of an individual potter. "There’s no continuity. There’s no space for (our) method to continue."

Still, he continues to produce individual pots on an outcrop of land overlooking the Aegean Sea.

"Above all, it’s a passion - trying to create something that fulfils you," he said.