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World Heritage Day... Saudi Arabia Celebrates its Rich Treasures

More than 5,393 craftsmen are registered in the National Register of Handicrafts (Ministry of Culture)
More than 5,393 craftsmen are registered in the National Register of Handicrafts (Ministry of Culture)
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World Heritage Day... Saudi Arabia Celebrates its Rich Treasures

More than 5,393 craftsmen are registered in the National Register of Handicrafts (Ministry of Culture)
More than 5,393 craftsmen are registered in the National Register of Handicrafts (Ministry of Culture)

As World Heritage Day falls on April 18, Saudi Arabia celebrates the qualitative transformations it has achieved in the heritage and antiquities sector since the launch of its national strategy for culture, which falls within Vision 2030.

Over the past years, Saudi Arabia has made tremendous efforts to preserve its diverse cultural heritage.

These treasures are evident through traditional costumes that reflect the national identity and the rich cultural heritage, and handicrafts that constituted a source of livelihood and guaranteed a decent life for members of society in the past.

Moreover, excavation projects have uncovered valuable discoveries in various Saudi archaeological sites, and shed light on the Kingdom’s cultural wealth and its importance as a bridge linking the thriving cultural experience on its land.

Seven sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List

The story of heritage and antiquities in Saudi Arabia is full of diversity, and blends authenticity with modernity.

Recently, the Kingdom presented a model of its rich cultural experience to the world, when seven Saudi sites were put on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Those include: Al-Hijr Archaeological Site, Al-Turaif District in ad-Diriyah, Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah, Rock Art in the Hail, Al-Ahsa Oasis, an Evolving Cultural Landscape, Ḥima Cultural Area and the Harrat Uwayrid Reserve.

Through individual and collective efforts, Saudi Arabia registered a number of elements on the UNESCO lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Those include falconry, Arabic calligraphy, traditional weaving of Al-Sadu, Al-Qatt Al-Asiri (female traditional interior wall decoration in Asir), Almezmar (drumming and dancing with sticks), Arabic coffee (a symbol of generosity), Majlis (a cultural and social space) and Alardah Alnajdiyah (dance, drumming and poetry in Saudi Arabia).

These achievements reflect the scale of the Saudi effort in the heritage sector, as shown by the increase in the number of archaeological sites to 8,917 across the Kingdom, in addition to around 3,646 urban heritage sites, and more than 5,393 craftsmen registered with the National Register of Handicrafts.

Riyadh hosted the work of the 45th expanded session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO last September, in the presence of about 3,000 guests from 21 countries. The event shed light on the rich and diverse Saudi heritage sites and the important archaeological discoveries that received global attention.

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Culture

Trinidad and Tobago Reckons with Colonialism in a Debate on Statues, Signs and Monuments of Its Past 

A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)
A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)
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Trinidad and Tobago Reckons with Colonialism in a Debate on Statues, Signs and Monuments of Its Past 

A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)
A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)

In a small auditorium in the seaside capital of Trinidad and Tobago, Christopher Columbus and other colonial-era figures came under scrutiny late Wednesday in a lengthy debate punctuated by snickers, applause and outbursts.

The government had asked residents of the diverse, twin-island nation in the eastern Caribbean if they supported the removal of statues, signs and monuments with colonial ties and how those spaces should be used instead. One by one, people of African, European and Indigenous descent stepped up to the microphone and responded.

Some suggested a prominent Columbus statue be placed in a museum. Others requested it be destroyed and that people be allowed to stomp on the dusty remains. One man encouraged officials to round up statues of colonial figures and create a “square of the infamous.”

The majority of the more than two dozen people who spoke, and dozens of others commenting online, supported removal of colonial-era symbols and names.

“It’s an issue about how after 62 years of independence ... we continue to live in a space that reflects the ideals and the vision and the views of those who were our colonial masters,” said Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, executive chair of the islands’ Emancipation Support Committee.

Trinidad and Tobago is the latest nation to embrace a global movement that began in recent years to abolish colonial-era symbols as it reckons with its past and questions if and how it should memorialize it as demands for slavery reparations grow across the Caribbean.

The public hearing was held just a week after the government announced it would redraw the nation’s coat of arms to remove Christopher Columbus’ three famous ships — the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María – and replace it with the steelpan, a popular percussion instrument that originated in the Caribbean nation.

Others pushed for further changes on Wednesday night.

“What the hell is the queen still doing on top of the coat of arms? Please let us put her to rest,” said Eric Lewis, who identifies as a member of the First Peoples, also known as Amerindians.

Trinidad and Tobago was first colonized by the Spanish, who ruled it for nearly 300 years before ceding it to the British, who governed it for more than 160 years until the islands’ independence in 1962. The colonial imprint remains throughout streets and plazas, with a statue of Christopher Columbus dominating a square of the same name in the capital of Port of Spain.

The islands’ National Trust calls it “one of the greatest embellishments of our town,” but many differ.

“It’s disrespectful to those who were the victims of him. The people suffered tremendously,” said Shania James as she called for the statue to be placed in a museum. “His atrocities should not be forgotten.”

But a handful of people dismissed concerns about how their ancestors were treated, including tour guide Teresa Hope, who is Black.

“They survived, and I survived, and we will keep on moving,” she said, adding that if the actions of historical figures were scrutinized, “everything would get knocked down.”

Rubadiri Victor, president of the Artists’ Coalition, said his country should instead erect statues and monuments to honor some of the more than 200 Trinbagonians who represent the best of the islands.

“We are stumbling and tripping over heroes,” he said. “To have produced so much genius, and that lineage is nowhere present in the landscape.”

Among the suggestions of people to honor was Nobel Prize-winning author V.S. Naipaul; Cyril Lionel Robert James, a historian and journalist; and Kwame Ture, who helped spearhead the Black Power movement in the US Others suggested that prominent Amerindians and more local women be honored, including Patricia Bishop, an educator and musician and Beryl McBurnie, a teacher credited with promoting and saving Caribbean dance.

The debate was scheduled to continue soon in the sister island of Tobago, with the government having received nearly 200 submissions overall so far on what it should do.