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GCC Culture Ministers Discuss Enhancing Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi Ministry of Culture logo
The Saudi Ministry of Culture logo
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GCC Culture Ministers Discuss Enhancing Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi Ministry of Culture logo
The Saudi Ministry of Culture logo

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq participated on Thursday in the 28th meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) culture ministers in Doha on behalf of Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan.

The meeting, chaired by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatari minister of culture and president of the current session, discussed topics aimed at enhancing cultural cooperation and exchange among GCC countries, including the GCC Cultural Strategy 2020-2030, and the annual plan for joint cultural events and activities.

The ministers also discussed the vision for developing joint work between the culture and tourism sectors in GCC countries, the Translation and Arabization Center, the promotion of the Arabic language, book fairs, the Cultural Statistics Platform, and international cultural cooperation.

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AlUla World Archaeology Conference to Explore Challenges, Future of Nomadic Societies

The conference will bring together researchers and experts in archaeology and cultural heritage from around the world. SPa
The conference will bring together researchers and experts in archaeology and cultural heritage from around the world. SPa
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AlUla World Archaeology Conference to Explore Challenges, Future of Nomadic Societies

The conference will bring together researchers and experts in archaeology and cultural heritage from around the world. SPa
The conference will bring together researchers and experts in archaeology and cultural heritage from around the world. SPa

The Royal Commission for AlUla will host a global archaeology conference addressing the future of archeology and the heritage of nomadic societies on October 30-31.
The conference, set to alternate with the AlUla World Archaeology Summit year after year, will bring together researchers and experts in archaeology and cultural heritage from around the world.
At the Maraya mirrored wonder nestled amidst the captivating landscape of AlUla, the event will consist of presentations, dialogues, workshops, and case studies, and will showcase a collection of archaeological artifacts discovered in AlUla by archaeological missions.
The conference will highlight the essential role of mobility in shaping the world we know today. Since prehistoric times, mobility has been the means to access new opportunities, improve living conditions, explore, and address environmental challenges, natural disasters, and social and political instabilities, among others.
While mobility remains challenging for some, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic's movement restrictions at the time, the conference provides an opportunity to shed light on various aspects of mobility and nomadic societies, challenging traditional assumptions about mobility in the past and present.
The conference will focus on the fundamental role of prehistoric mobility, when movement was the primary means to reach areas with new opportunities and seek life chances. Caravan mobility served as a means to address environmental challenges and natural disasters.
At a time when mobility remains a challenge, the conference offers an opportunity to illuminate different facets of mobility and nomadic societies.
Royal Commission for AlUla Vice President of Culture Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani said in a statement issued Tuesday that the conference aims to provide an advanced and pioneering platform for dialogue and collaboration, and that it will alternate with the summit the following year.
The commission, he said, seeks to maintain the momentum generated by the summit last year through the conference, while preparing for AlUla World Archaeology Summit in 2025.
Alsuhaibani said today AlUla is one of the most active regions in the world regarding archaeological exploration, with over 30,000 archaeological sites identified, and 12 ongoing search projects in its rich cultural landscape.
“AlUla has held a unique position for thousands of years as a crossroads for civilizations, serving as a beacon for cultural and intellectual exchange,” Alsuhaibani said.
Key speakers at the conference include Professor Willeke Wendrich from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, archaeology Professor Stefano Biagetti from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, and Peter Debrine, leader of Sustainable Tourism Programme at UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris.
Research overseen by the Royal Commission for AlUla by Saudi and international archaeologists has shed light on various wonders of AlUla's history through the ages, including the massive stone structures known as “mustatil” (rectangle, in Arabic).
Among the discovered wonders are also the ancient stone-built traps for animals, known as “desert kites,” the long “funerary avenues” that connected oases and pastures through corridors lined with tombs, and the dwellings known as the “standing stone circles.”
Studies indicate that early societies in northwestern Arabian Peninsula were more complex and interconnected with the broader region than previously believed.
The conference is anticipated to host the first-ever global exhibition featuring archaeological pieces from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples in Italy. The agenda also includes field visits to prominent archaeological sites in AlUla and surrounding areas of note, including Tayma and Khaybar.