Saudi Gazette report

ALULA — The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have signed a second phase agreement to activate future cultural programs that emanates from the long-term agreement, which was signed in Paris in 2021.

The second phase focuses on two main projects: the integrated cultural program, and the development of the Antiquities Protection Fellowship Program in cooperation between UNESCO and the Kingdoms Institute, which promotes heritage preservation, education, capacity building, nature, and the creative arts.

The integrated cultural program between RCU and UNESCO will provide technical support while working to build capabilities and develop international relations, as well as enhancing the presence of cultural heritage and creativity as a driving force of the sustainable development plan in AlUla governorate to achieve AlUla’s vision in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Over the next two years, the program will focus on the role that heritage and creativity can play in building sustainable sites and building a development model based on cultural and social interaction in AlUla.

The new agreement also works to develop the Antiquities Protection Fellowship Program, which is jointly managed by UNESCO, as well as the Kingdoms Institute. Under the program, the first batch of researchers and specialists in the field of heritage will arrive in AlUla this year to conduct research based on conservation and management and participate in the exchange and transfer of knowledge.

UNESCO and the Kingdoms Institute, the main instrument of RCU for research and conservation of heritage, have decided to jointly convene five fellows in the fields of Heritage Research, Conservation and Management for a 10-month fellowship program. This is within the framework of the strategic cooperation between UNESCO and RCU to protect, develop and promote AIUla in UNESCO’s field of competence and to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The program will last for 10 months and take place in two phases: The four-month fellowship in the Kingdoms Institute, in Saudi Arabia and six-month sponsored traineeship in one of the duty stations of UNESCO outside Saudi Arabia.

The AlUla Vision is based on the Saudi Vision 2030, by strengthening international partnerships, including UNESCO, on development in a strategic manner, leading to the promotion of education, culture and science, and taking it as a platform to stimulate economic opportunities, create job opportunities, and comprehensive sustainable development.