AlUla, UNESCO Highlight Documentary Heritage Role in Promoting Sustainable Development
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and UNESCO have launched 'Innovating Documentary Heritage for Sustainable Development in AlUla and Saudi Arabia' Conference in Paris, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Taking place from April 29-30, 2025, the conference is part of the UNESCO's 'Memory of the World' program. It will bring together a host of experts and institutions concerned with historical memory, as well as cultural policymakers, to discuss the mechanisms of leveraging documentary heritage in supporting education, fostering cultural dialogue, and contributing to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Saudi Arabia and the Arab region.
Concurrently, the UNESCO headquarters is hosting an exhibition titled 'Words on Memory: A Window into Saudi Arabia's Documentary Heritage,' from April 28 to May 2, 2025. The exhibition showcases the Kingdom's archival legacy and historical storytelling traditions, in partnership with national memory institutions.
This initiative aligns with RCU's commitment to preserving AlUla's natural and cultural heritage, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. It also aims to establish AlUla's status as a regional hub for cultural leadership and heritage-driven development.
Meanwhile, the conference serves as an extension of the RCU's partnership with UNESCO under the 'Memory of the World' program and the Kingdoms Institute, underscoring their joint efforts in preserving documentary heritage, building capacities, and exchanging knowledge on a global scale.
Short link :
Post Views: 1
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
31-05-2025
- Al Arabiya
Man jumps into display of China's terracotta army, damaging some: Officials
A domestic tourist climbed over a fence and jumped into a section of the world-famous display of China's Terracotta Army, damaging two ancient clay warriors, authorities said Saturday. The 30-year-old was visiting the museum housing the Terracotta Army in the city of Xi'an on Friday when he 'climbed over the guardrail and the protective net and jumped', public security officials said in a statement. The man surnamed Sun was found to 'suffer from mental illness' and the case is under investigation. He 'pushed and pulled' the clay warriors and two were 'damaged to varying degrees', the statement said. He was 'controlled' by security personnel. The pit he jumped into is up to 5.4 metres (18 feet) deep, according to the museum's website. Built around 209 BC to stand guard over the tomb of the first emperor, the 8,000-strong Terracotta Army is one of China's most important archaeological discoveries and considered a symbol of ancient Chinese artistic and military sophistication. A major tourist attraction in Xi'an, capital of the northern province of Shaanxi, it has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1987. A worker at the museum told AFP on Saturday that the display was open as usual.
Arab News
30-05-2025
- Arab News
Egypt denies court ruling threatens historic monastery
CAIRO: Egypt has denied that a controversial court ruling over Sinai's Saint Catherine monastery threatens the UNESCO world heritage landmark, after Greek and church authorities warned of the sacred site's status. A court in Sinai ruled on Wednesday in a land dispute between the monastery and the South Sinai governorate that the monastery 'is entitled to use' the land, which 'the state owns as public property.' President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's office defended the ruling Thursday, saying it 'consolidates' the site's 'unique and sacred religious status,' after the head of the Greek Orthodox church in Greece denounced it. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens called the court ruling 'scandalous' and an infringement by Egyptian judicial authorities of religious freedoms. He said the decision means 'the oldest Orthodox Christian monument in the world, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai, now enters a period of severe trial — one that evokes much darker times in history.' El-Sisi's office in a statement said it 'reiterates its full commitment to preserving the unique and sacred religious status of Saint Catherine's monastery and preventing its violation.' The monastery was established in the sixth century at the biblical site of the burning bush in the southern mountains of the Sinai peninsula, and is the world's oldest continually inhabited Christian monastery. The Saint Catherine area, which includes the eponymous town and a nature reserve, is undergoing mass development under a controversial government megaproject aimed at bringing in mass tourism. Observers say the project has harmed the reserve's ecosystem and threatened both the monastery and the local community. Archbishop Ieronymos warned that the monastery's property would now be 'seized and confiscated,' despite 'recent pledges to the contrary by the Egyptian President to the Greek Prime Minister.' Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis contacted his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on Thursday, saying 'there was no room for deviation from the agreements between the two parties,' the ministry's spokesperson said. In a statement to Egypt's state news agency, the foreign ministry in Cairo later said rumors of confiscation were 'unfounded,' and that the ruling 'does not infringe at all' on the monastery's sites or its religious and spiritual significance. Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said 'Greece will express its official position ... when the official and complete content of the court decision is known and evaluated.' He confirmed both countries' commitment to 'maintaining the Greek Orthodox religious character of the monastery.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Australia's Bid for Ancient Rock Art World Heritage Listing Stalls Over Pollution
Australia's bid to secure World Heritage status for a site with Indigenous rock art estimated to be 50,000 years old has been dealt a blow after a UN advisory body warned it was at risk from nearby industrial pollution. The International Council on Monuments and Sites advised UNESCO to refer the nomination back to the Australian government so it could 'prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape'. Located on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia state, the Murujuga rock art, which is of cultural and spiritual significance to local Indigenous Australians, was nominated for heritage listing in 2023. The Burrup Peninsula is also a key industrial hub, home to two gas plants run by Woodside, and fertilizer and explosives plants run by Norway's Yara International. The government on Wednesday extended the lifetime of Woodside's largest gas plant in the region, the North West Shelf, until 2070. The extension will generate up to 4.3 billion metric tons of additional carbon emissions. Scrutiny over the impact of Australia's resources industry on Indigenous heritage sites has been magnified since Rio Tinto destroyed the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters as part of a mine expansion in 2020. Australia has said the Murujuga petroglyphs were in 'good condition overall' and presented findings from a study of the site that said there were no suggestions 'acid rain or deposition is contributing to damage of the rock art'. Despite this, ICOMOS recommended preventing further industrial development near the site and called for a 'decommissioning and rehabilitation plan for existing industrial activities'. ICOMOS, citing media reports quoting rock art experts and information received about the proposed North West Shelf extension, concluded 'the conservation conditions of the petroglyphs are extremely vulnerable and threatened by industrial acidic emissions'. Luke James, a cultural heritage expert at Deakin University, said the ICOMOS draft decision was a 'setback' for the Australian government. 'ICOMOS has identified some concerns around protection and management,' he said. 'It is now up to the Australian government to demonstrate to the committee that these are surmountable, or it will need to wait at least a year - and do further work - for another chance at inscription.' Woodside said in a statement it continued to support the heritage listing of the rock art and would work with the Murujuga traditional owners and government to prepare its response to ICOMOS' recommendation. 'We believe the World Heritage nomination should proceed on the strength of the evidence and stand as proof that cultural heritage and industry can responsibly coexist when collaboration, transparency and rigorous scientific monitoring are in place,' it said. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee will meet in July.
