Saudi Culture Ministry Adds 118 Educational Institutions to its Cultural Scholarship Program

Saudi Culture Ministry Adds 118 Educational Institutions to its Cultural Scholarship Program
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Saudi Culture Ministry Adds 118 Educational Institutions to its Cultural Scholarship Program

Saudi Culture Ministry Adds 118 Educational Institutions to its Cultural Scholarship Program

The Saudi Ministry of Culture said it is expanding its Cultural Scholarship Program by adding 118 educational institutions to the list of accredited educational institutions.
The move aims to lend support to national cadres, respond to the growing needs of the labor market, and achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 related to culture, SPA reported.
The new addition brings the number of educational institutions supported by the program to 278, distributed in 15 countries: the largest number, 58 institutions, in US, 40 institutions in UK, and one in Russia. Students may obtain scholarships in 13 cultural fields.
The newly added educational institutions include prestigious international universities, most notably: the University of San Francisco, Arizona State University, University of Colorado Boulder, Royal Holloway, University of London, the University of Liverpool, Padova University, in Italy, and Lund University, in Sweden.
The Cultural Scholarship Program is comprehensive and offers a diversity of specializations in the cultural and artistic fields. Scholarship students will have their study costs funded, financial guarantee, paid living expenses, for them and their companions, medical insurance, travel tickets, and will have their academic development followed up on and evaluated.



Nigeria’s Museum Agrees with Royal Ruler on Custody of Benin Bronzes 

Examples of Benin bronzes which, together with collections such as the Parthenon sculptures, are the subject of talks of their return to countries of origin, are displayed at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters) 
Examples of Benin bronzes which, together with collections such as the Parthenon sculptures, are the subject of talks of their return to countries of origin, are displayed at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters) 
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Nigeria’s Museum Agrees with Royal Ruler on Custody of Benin Bronzes 

Examples of Benin bronzes which, together with collections such as the Parthenon sculptures, are the subject of talks of their return to countries of origin, are displayed at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters) 
Examples of Benin bronzes which, together with collections such as the Parthenon sculptures, are the subject of talks of their return to countries of origin, are displayed at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters) 

Nigeria's national museum commission will be responsible for retrieving and keeping priceless Benin Bronzes, taking on the task with the assent of the royal ruler appointed sole owner and custodian of the objects nearly two years ago, its head said.

Nigeria is on a quest to recover thousands of intricate bronze sculptures and castings that were looted by British soldiers during a raid on the then-separate Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now southwestern Nigeria, in 1897.

The stolen bronzes are among Africa's finest and most significant heritage objects and are mostly in Europe.

In March 2023, then-president Muhammadu Buhari signed a decree saying the Oba, or king, of the historic kingdom of Benin rightfully owned all returned Benin Bronzes and was responsible for managing all places where the artifacts are kept.

Olugbile Holloway, director general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), told Reuters that the Oba did not have the infrastructure to care for the bronzes.

"So, the Oba has given the NCMM the blessing to display, conserve and to pursue reparation of these objects. So, there is no more ambiguity," said Holloway.

In 2023 the NCMM had said the University of Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology put on hold plans to return more than 100 artifacts after the government decree.

Holloway, however, said it was now a matter of time before an agreement would be reached with Cambridge University for the artifacts' return.

"The return of these objects is not just about displaying them in the museum or taking care of them. It is about the dignity of our people and undoing the injustice of 1897," he said.