23 July 2019
Arab Tourism and Heritage Forum in Salalah, Oman, Honours H.E Shaikha Mai
On the Sidelines of the first Arab Tourism and Heritage Forum, organized by the Arab Center for Tourism Media, and was opened at the Rotana Salalah Hotel on Monday during Salalah Tourism Festival, Sultnate of Oman, held between 21-25 July 2019, H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities was named “Arab Heritage Personality 2019”. The honour ceremony event by the most prestigious award granted by the Arab Centre for Tourism Media to personalities who contributed substantially to preserving the cultural components in their countries and the Arab world, was held under the patronage of Sayyid Mohammed bin Sultan al Busaidi Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr Abdul Moneim bin Mansour al Hasani, Minister of Information, Shaikh Khalid bin Omar al Marhoon, Minister of Civil Service, journalist Khalid Khalil, founder of the Arab Centre for Tourism Media, Dr. Sultan Al Yahyai, President of ACTM in Oman, Dr. Taleb Al Rifai, Chairman of the ACTM ‘s Board of Trustees, his Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Oufit al-Shanfri, Head of Dhofar Municipality, Princess Diana Firas, President of the Petra National Fund and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, and a number of dignitaries, officials from the Sultanate and Arab countries.
Speaking for the occasion, H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa addressed her sincere gratitude and thanks to the Arab Center for Tourism Media for organizing the event, stressing the importance of its role as an effective tool to promote cultural tourist sites in the Arab world. H.E also lauded the organization of this Arab Tourism and Heritage Forum in Salalah, which has succeeded to be put on the region’s tourism map. H.E added that media plays a crucial role in promoting Arab historical and civilizational assets, pointing out that culture and historical heritage form the core of the national identity, the reason number one for attracting high quality cultural tourism advocates. The Kingdom of Bahrain seeks to reflect this policy this a sustainable cultural tourism infrastructure, restoring and preserving archaeological and heritage sites and register them on UNESCO World Heritage List, which now include three Bahraini sites, together with the latest Dilmun Burial Mounds, recently registered during the World Heritage Committee meeting. H.E wished the Arab Tourism and Heritage bright success, hoping that it will achieve its objectives with regard to Arab tourism strategy and all its future projects and programs.
Before the Award ceremony, the Arab Center for Tourism Media presented the major achievements made by H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, namely her role in enhancing the complementary relationship between culture and tourism, and establishing a sustainable cultural tourism infrastructure. H.E ‘s international presence in major world cultural events and her relentless efforts to highlight the Bahraini cultural heritage, its protection and promotion, all have contributed to making Bahrain a world cultural tourism destination, a mirror reflecting an astounding unique cultural identity. The ACTM screened a short documentary film, shedding lights on Shaikha Mai’s greatest deeds and achievements as a cultural and art icon in the Arab world.
Worth to mention that H.E Shaikha Mai before becoming President of Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities since 2015, was the Minister of Culture & Information and then Minister of Culture. A leading figure in the Arab culture and art scenes, H.E. Shaikha Mai has spearheaded national efforts to develop the cultural infrastructure in the Kingdom of Bahrain for heritage conservation and the growth of sustainable tourism. The President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, HE Shaikha Mai is the foremost public expert in the field, holding the unique portfolios of the Ministry for Culture & Information and then the Ministry for Culture. As the founder of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research and Chair of its Board of Trustees since 2002, she works actively to foster culture and preserve the traditional architecture of Bahrain. It was to this end that she launched the nation-wide ‘Invest in Culture’ initiative, building an unprecedented partnership between the private and public sectors for heritage preservation, leading to the establishment of the Bahrain Fort Site Museum and the Bahrain National Theatre, generously sponsored and supported by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa , May God Protect Him. The results were outstanding; register of Qala’at al Bahrain on UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005, Pearling Path in 2012, and Dilmun Burial Mounds 201, as well as founding the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage-Bahrain, whose mission is to enhance the implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention in Arab States for the benefit of World Heritage Sites in the region.
Worth to mention that H.E Shaikha Mai had previously been awarded Colbert Creativity and Heritage Award in 2010, Arab Thought Foundation, for sustainable cultural tourism annual events, such as Spring of Cultural Festival and Bahrain Summer Festival. H.E was also honoured by many medals and prizes, such the Arab Woman of the Year Award was created in 2015, the Hadrian Award & Watch Award by the World Monuments Fund and many medals from France, Morocco, Italy and the Kingdom of Bahrain. The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has appointed her as a Special Ambassador for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 and 2019.
The two-day forum includes two sessions entitled “Tourism Investment and Achieving National Targets. Future Projects as a Global Model”. The Second Session will discuss how to promote the Omani market, as well as specialized workshops in several fields, including investment incentives and their impact on increasing tourism flows, in addition to the tourism future of the Arab region and the development of cultural and heritage tourism product in the Governorate of Dhofar. On the second day, the forum will review the complementary relationship between heritage and media in promoting tourism awareness, as well as organizing specialized workshops with the participation of media and tourism stakeholders, such as the World Tourism Organization, and the Arab Center for Tourism Media.The forum aims at highlighting the Sultanate’s tourism and heritage potentials, as well as availing the opportunity to exchange experiences between the media and tourism sectors
