News & Event

HE Engineer Ibrahim bin Said Al Kharousi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Heritage, patronized  the opening ceremony of the sub-regional forum: "Green Culture and Heritage: The Path Toward Sustainability", which is organized by the Ministry of Education represented by the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, and in partnership with the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science. A number of experts and specialists in the field of preserving cultural and natural heritage, representing the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO), the UNESCO Regional Office for the Arab Gulf States and Yemen in Doha, and a number of Omani and Gulf experts, are participating in the forum. The three-days forum is taking place at the Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Culture and Entertainment in Dhofar Governorate.

The opening ceremony began with the speech of the Sultanate of Oman, delivered by Amna bint Salem Al Balushi, Secretary of the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science at the Ministry of Education, in which she emphasized that the world views culture as an important tool in achieving sustainable development for countries, the integrated well-being of peoples and societies, and drawing cultural and heritage plans and policies leading to the promotion of understanding and the spread of peace. She also referred to the interest of organizations (UNESCO, ISESCO and ALECSO) in culture and the support of member states to preserve its tangible and intangible heritage, and to take care of preserving natural and cultural resources.

At the end of her speech, she indicated the compatibility of the issue of culture and green heritage with Oman Vision 2040, the cultural strategy, and the Cultural Heritage Law of the Sultanate of Oman, which stress on the importance of preserving culture and heritage in all its elements, with the need to strive tirelessly to develop

the necessary frameworks to protect them from climate changes, which have become one of the most prominent issues that concern the whole world.

Engineer Bilal Shabi, program specialist in the cultural sector at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), delivered the Organization’s speech in which he explained the seriousness of climate change and its impact on heritage sites in the world in general, and in the Islamic world in particular, and the importance of developing strategies, exchanging experiences and efforts to protect the environment and its cultural elements. He also pointed out the efforts of ISESCO in providing support and advice to member states in order to address the phenomena of climate change and preserve a healthy environment, inspired by Islamic culture, in the belief that climate change has become a major threat to heritage sites around the world, and its involvement in international efforts calling for addressing this phenomenon and preserving the historical gains of peoples.

Dr. Abd Al-Ilah Al-Tukhis, Director of the Culture Sector at the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, delivered the speech of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, referring to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's initiative "Culture and the Green Future", which aims to enhance the role of culture, and raise awareness of the centrality of culture in comprehensive and sustainable development, and urges drawing cultural policies and comprehensive programs that contribute to achieving efficient use of resources, mitigating the effects of climate change, enhancing the ability to adapt to it, and dealing with its various challenges.

Dr. Hamad bin Muhammad Al-Mahrzi, Dean of the Oman College of Tourism in Deputation, concluded the opening ceremony of the forum with a main paper entitled: “Green Natural Heritage and Tourism: Integration towards Sustainability”, in which he touched on the types of heritage, including natural heritage, from which a number of branches emerge, and the Green natural heritage represents one of this heritage’s types. It is a term that describes natural heritage sites that are characterized by a natural wild nature, or human intervention: such as cultivated environments.

The first day of the forum included two sessions, the first of which focused on the efforts of international organizations in the field of culture and green heritage. The session started with a paper on “Exploring the Future of Green Culture and Heritage in Light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” presented by Engineer Jawada Mansour from the UNESCO Regional Office. In the second paper, Eng. Bilal Shabi of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) addressed the efforts of ISESCO in preserving culture and green heritage.

Dr. Ahmadou Habibi of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) presented the third paper titled: “Culture and the Green Future: The Power of Culture for Sustainability” in which he highlighted in the third paper the organization's efforts in this field. Dr. Heba Abdulaziz from the German University of Technology in Muscat concluded this session with a scientific paper on the role of the UNESCO chair in the field of world heritage and sustainable tourism management in the Arab region in the field of green heritage preservation.

The second session focused on promoting green culture and heritage through drawing up plans and employing modern technologies. The session included three papers, the first paper titled: “The Implications of Green Culture and Heritage towards a Sustainable Future in Oman’s Vision 2040”, presented by Eng. Faiza bint Muhammad Al Harthi, from the Oman 2040 Vision Implementation Follow-up Office. The second paper was titled: “The Role of Education in Promoting Green Culture and Heritage: The Schools Initiative Green as a Model”, presented by Dr. Huda bint Mubarak Al-Dairi, from the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science. The third and final paper was titled “The Role of Museums in Preserving Green Culture”, presented by Dr. Najia bint Muhammad Al-Siyabi, from the Oman Through Time Museum.

The second day of the forum included two sessions. The first session focused on the transition towards green culture and heritage and included four papers. The first paper is entitled: "Features of the Management of Al Ain Cultural Sites and Applications of the Historical Urban Landscape Methodology”. The second paper is entitled: "The Impact of Climate Changes on the Sustainability of Culture and Green Heritage", while the third paper is about the role of local communities in the sustainability of culture and green heritage. The fourth paper is entitled: "The Future Vision for the Development of Wadi Dawka in Dhofar Governorate".

It is worth noting that this forum targets a number of researchers, academics, and workers in the fields of heritage, culture, environment, tourism, and the local community with the aim of introducing them to green culture and heritage and related concepts, reviewing the challenges facing elements of green culture and heritage, and the role of artificial intelligence applications in promoting green culture and heritage practices, as well as providing the best innovative solutions that support the green heritage trend to serve the environment and its sustainability, and to present best practices in the field of green culture and heritage, and their role in achieving a sustainable economy.