Quality of Life Program CEO: ‘Cultural Houses’ Are Integrated Hubs for Advancing the Saudi Cultural Scene 

The Cultural House in Dammam. (SPA)
The Cultural House in Dammam. (SPA)
TT

Quality of Life Program CEO: ‘Cultural Houses’ Are Integrated Hubs for Advancing the Saudi Cultural Scene 

The Cultural House in Dammam. (SPA)
The Cultural House in Dammam. (SPA)

CEO of the Quality of Life Program Center Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Baker commended on Tuesday the Cultural Houses established by the Libraries Commission in Dammam city and the Ahad Rafidah province, describing them as integrated cultural hubs.

Al-Baker said these Cultural Houses represent interactive cultural platforms that will provide a comprehensive cultural experience to various segments of society, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

The inauguration of the Cultural Houses is part of an initiative to develop public libraries, one of the Quality of Life Program's initiatives aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia's contribution to arts and culture, he stated.

Al-Baker emphasized that the opening of the Cultural Houses marks a significant milestone in the Saudi cultural scene.

It signifies the birth of a modern and integrated cultural incubator that will contribute to the advancement of society and enable creators to discover their talents and develop their diverse skills, he went on to say.

He highlighted the objective of Vision 2030 to transform public libraries into vibrant cultural centers that reflect the diversity of creativity, art, and knowledge in the Kingdom.

"The Quality of Life Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and relevant entities, seeks to develop the cultural infrastructure," Al-Baker stated.

He also underlined the program's efforts to boost cultural sites and improve libraries as part of its initiatives to develop cultural facilities.



Japan’s Sado Mines Added to World Heritage List

This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)
This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)
TT

Japan’s Sado Mines Added to World Heritage List

This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)
This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)

A network of mines on a Japanese island infamous for using conscripted wartime labor was added to UNESCO's World Heritage register Saturday after South Korea dropped earlier objections to its listing.

The Sado gold and silver mines, now a popular tourist attraction, are believed to have started operating as early as the 12th century and produced until after World War II.

Japan had put a case for World Heritage listing because of their lengthy history and the artisanal mining techniques used there at a time when European mines had turned to mechanization.

The proposal was opposed by Seoul when it was first put because of the use of involuntary Korean labor during World War II, when Japan occupied the Korean peninsula.

UNESCO confirmed the listing of the mines at its ongoing committee meeting in New Delhi on Saturday after a bid highlighting its archaeological preservation of "mining activities and social and labor organization".

"I would like to wholeheartedly welcome the inscription... and pay sincere tribute to the long-standing efforts of the local people which made this possible," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said in a statement.

The World Heritage effort was years in the making, inspired in part by the successful recognition of a silver mine in western Japan's Shimane region.

South Korea's foreign ministry said it had agreed to the listing "on the condition that Japan faithfully implements the recommendation... to reflect the 'full history' at the Sado Gold Mine site and takes proactive measures to that end."

Historians have argued that recruitment conditions at the mine effectively amounted to forced labor, and that Korean workers faced significantly harsher conditions than their Japanese counterparts.

"Discrimination did exist," Toyomi Asano, a professor of history of Japanese politics at Tokyo's Waseda University, told AFP in 2022.

"Their working conditions were very bad and dangerous. The most dangerous jobs were allocated to them."

Also added to the list on Saturday was the Beijing Central Axis, a collection of former imperial palaces and gardens in the Chinese capital.

The UNESCO committee meeting runs until Wednesday.