Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan announced Monday the ministry’s new strategy for the nonprofit sector which aims to build a diverse system of nonprofit entities in various cultural sectors in all regions of the Kingdom.
Minister Prince Badr thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman for their continuous support for the nation’s culture and intellectuals, as well as for enhancing the opportunities for the nonprofit sector to contribute to the development of cultural fields.
“The objectives of the ministry’s strategy for the nonprofit sector are its inclusion, its effective contribution to the cultural and social systems, its building of wide communication at the local and international levels, the safety of its administrative efficiency, and its financial stability,” he said.
A total of 16 nonprofit professional societies will be created in 13 cultural sectors in the Kingdom.
The Ministry will implement its plan for the nonprofit sector by dividing nonprofit organizations into five categories such as civil institutions, professional societies, specialized societies, cooperative societies, and amateur clubs and that is consistent with the system of civil societies and institutions.
Prince Badr said that since the beginning of last year, the Ministry of Culture has worked on an analytical study of the nonprofit cultural sector in the Kingdom as well as in a number of other countries.
The study concluded the importance of re-classifying nonprofit cultural organizations in accordance with their roles to a broader than the two-fold classification established in the system of NGOs and civil institutions, and the importance of developing them in terms of their geographical distribution, measuring their social and economic impact, expanding their areas of competence in view of the cultural sectors.
Referring to the ministry’s support for these organizations, the minister has directed that public libraries, cultural centers, and literary clubs headquarters, and cultural and art associations will be made available to hold activities of the new organizations.
The ministry has also invited interested persons to apply to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to establish their own civil institutions, and their civil and cooperative societies in the fields of literature, publishing, translation, libraries, heritage, museums, theater, and performing arts, music, films, fashion, cooking, architecture and design, and the visual arts.
