01 December 2015
Culture Authority Participates at the 5th edition of the National Urban Heritage Forum in Qassim Province, Saudi Arabia
The Bahrain Culture & Archeology Authority has participated in the 5th Urban Heritage Forum and will be declared open to the public in Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia, and will run until 3 December 2015. The forum is held in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, president of SCTH, and under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mesh’al bin Saud bin Abdul Aziz, governor of Al Qassim province and chairman of Al Qassim Tourism Development Council.
This participation comes as part the Authority’s plans, especially during this year celebrated as ‘Our Heritage, Our Wealth’. BACA representatives underlined the role of culture and the arts in upholding human and civilizational advancements, noting that the exceptional heritage sites in the kingdom of Bahrain, such as ‘Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy’, bear witness to the abundance of rich cultures that once inhabited the island, which has bestowed it with the designation of ‘The Land of Immortality’.
Due to their significance as an intersection of civilizations and cultures in the Arabian Gulf for many millennia, two archaeological sites were inscribed on the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. Bahrain’s experience in the development and preservation of urban heritage site and their investment and employment in different areas was also highlighted.
The Forum will feature 22 sessions and workshops in which approximately 100 national and international officials and experts will take part. The sessions and workshops of the Forum will discuss a number of themes including: ‘The Kingdom’s Urban Heritage’, ‘Urban Heritage and Society’, ‘Role of Municipalities in the Development of Urban Heritage’, ‘Integration of Urban Heritage Resources in GCC Countries’, ‘Urban Heritage and Desert Environments’, ‘Heritage Hospitality Company’, ‘Urban Heritage in the Sultanate of Oman’, ‘Transformation in the Management of Urban Heritage in the Kingdom’, ‘Historic Mosques’, ‘Urban Heritage Documentation’, ‘Investment and Management of Urban Heritage Sites’, ‘Mud Construction Techniques’, ‘Media and Urban Heritage Development’, and ‘Experiences in the Management of Urban Heritage’.
The Forum will feature a number of heritage events, beside the scientific sessions and workshops and accompanied exhibition, which will include pavilions of a number of public authorities, in addition to pavilions of Tourism Development Councils, and urban heritage concerned centers and associations.
In its efforts to utilize successful regional and international experience in the field of urban heritage development and preservation, the Forum in its current session, has invited the Sultanate of Oman as the Guest of Honor of this year. Oman will be represented in the Forum by the Omani Ministry of Culture and Heritage, which will organize an exhibition on the Oma’s urban heritage through which Forum visitors and participants, and the local community can take a closer look at the Omani urban heritage and its various types.
