Majed Al-Hugail Appointed CEO of Saudi Cultural Development Fund

A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saud National Day. (SPA file)
A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saud National Day. (SPA file)
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Majed Al-Hugail Appointed CEO of Saudi Cultural Development Fund

A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saud National Day. (SPA file)
A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saud National Day. (SPA file)

The board of directors of the Cultural Development Fund (CDF), chaired by Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, appointed Majed bin Abdulmohsen Al-Hugail as CDF’s new chief executive officer (CEO) effective June 1, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday.

With his expertise, Al-Hugail is set to lead the fund, continuing its growth, fostering the cultural sector’s development and sustainability, and boosting its economic and social impact.

Al-Hugail has extensive leadership experience in the financial, cultural, and public sectors. His distinguished career includes several key roles, most recently as general supervisor of the Ministry of Culture vice minister’s executive office and Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB) head of the private sector.

Al-Hugail holds a master's degree in business administration from London Business School, a board director diploma from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, and a bachelor's degree in management from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

He succeeds Mohammed Bin Dayel, who led the fund for three years, during which CDF devoted its efforts to developing and advancing the cultural sector.

The CDF was founded in 2021 to further boost the cultural landscape within Saudi Arabia. It is organizationally linked to the National Development Fund to promote the development of a self-reliant cultural sector. The CDF supports various cultural activities and projects, facilitates investment, and seeks to improve the domestic cultural sector's profitability in alignment with the National Culture Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030.



UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
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UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File

The Saint Hilarion complex, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, has been put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the war in Gaza, the body said Friday.
UNESCO said the site, which dates back to the fourth century, had been put on the endangered list at the demand of Palestinian authorities and cited the "imminent threats" it faced.
"It's the only recourse to protect the site from destruction in the current context," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told AFP, referring to the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
In December, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict decided to grant "provisional enhanced protection" -- the highest level of immunity established by the 1954 Hague Convention -- to the site.
UNESCO had then said it was "already concerned about the state of conservation of sites, before October 7, due to the lack of adequate policies to protect heritage and culture" in Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.