With the kingdom having become increasingly open toward the rest of the world, international partnerships are a global platform for acquiring knowledge, establishing alliances with key scientific stakeholders, expanding our regional expertise, and co-creating new initiatives.
The knowledge transfer that arises from holistically designed partnerships empowers Saudi talents and organisations and makes the country more self-reliant.
Consider as an example this month’s landmark partnership between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Royal Commission for AlUla.
The IUCN will provide valuable assistance to RCU in regenerating the AlUla region and restoring and conserving its nature and wildlife. Our partnership agreement covers important topics such as effective governance of natural resources and creating havens for nature and wildlife through the IUCN’s Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas.
As we participate in @IUCN congress, learning best practices and innovations from global leaders in conservation, we reaffirm our commitment to protect #AlUla and restore its unique biodiversity.#IUCNcongresspic.twitter.com/mRgqtWntK9
But it also includes several clauses that ensure the transfer of knowledge to Saudi Arabia. The IUCN will assist RCU in developing education and capacity-building initiatives on conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. It will also provide capacity-building in the field of sustainable tourism development and management.
IUCN is one of our key partners for nature conservation. At RCU, we are establishing strategic partnerships for all our key pillars: Heritage, culture and art. The aims are multiple: To expand our expertise and presence, to promote AlUla globally, and to co-create the future of AlUla with international standards and benchmarks.
Through our three-year cooperation agreement with @IUCN we will establish deeper engagement with the global conservation ecosystem to help accelerate the rehabilitation of nature in #AlUlapic.twitter.com/7yse4LgVA5
Our key partnership with AFALULA (Agence française pour le développement d’AlUla), for example, was established with the French government.
RCU and AFALULA have been working as partners to invest in the people of AlUla through enriching experiences on projects spanning archaeological and archaeobotanical research, the development of new archaeological excavation sites, the rehabilitation of AlUla Old Town, the development of tourist infrastructure, and agriculture.
Through the first two years of the partnership, 96 Saudi students studied in France on RCU scholarships as part of the alliance with AFALULA. This included courses in the culinary arts at Ferrandi and training as tour guides.
By transferring knowledge to Saudis and co-creating the future of AlUla, our partners show their commitment to our country’s growth through the three pillars of Vision 2030: A vital society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.
It is interesting to note that Vision 2030’s Human Capital Development Program observes that one of the indications of increasing output from Saudi scientific researchers is the concurrent rise in their number of partnerships worldwide.
As an African proverb says: “If you want to go far, go together.”
Let me conclude with a local example of the enduring benefit of partnership.
Perhaps the most famous monument at AlUla is the marvelous Tomb of Lihyan Son of Kuza at Hegra (pictured below). The Nabataean masons who built it incorporated many influences but combined them with their own skill and knowledge to create something unique. The tombs at Hegra – and there are more than 100 in all – include symbols and features testifying to the influences of the civilisations that were the Nabataeans’ trading partners, including those of Mesopotamia, the Hellenistic world and Egypt.
At the same time the tombs include indisputably local features linked to local beliefs, including the symbols of major deities such as the chief Nabataean god Dushara, the need for protection from harmful spirits, and a belief in the soul’s eternal afterlife.
They learned from their partners – yet their creation was something singular.
That is the essence of what we hope to achieve through the transfer of knowledge from our partners. We reached a milestone in that regard this month with the signing of our agreement with IUCN.
We look forward to hosting their experts at AlUla and continuing on the journey of learning together – a journey that will culminate with the expansion of Saudi expertise.
Abeer AlAkel, chief of Special Initiatives & Partnerships at RCU.
Written by Abeer AlAkel
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New Saudi agreement with global nature group lifts Saudi people as well as kingdom’s wildlife
With the kingdom having become increasingly open toward the rest of the world, international partnerships are a global platform for acquiring knowledge, establishing alliances with key scientific stakeholders, expanding our regional expertise, and co-creating new initiatives.
The knowledge transfer that arises from holistically designed partnerships empowers Saudi talents and organisations and makes the country more self-reliant.
Consider as an example this month’s landmark partnership between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Royal Commission for AlUla.
The IUCN will provide valuable assistance to RCU in regenerating the AlUla region and restoring and conserving its nature and wildlife. Our partnership agreement covers important topics such as effective governance of natural resources and creating havens for nature and wildlife through the IUCN’s Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas.
But it also includes several clauses that ensure the transfer of knowledge to Saudi Arabia. The IUCN will assist RCU in developing education and capacity-building initiatives on conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. It will also provide capacity-building in the field of sustainable tourism development and management.
IUCN is one of our key partners for nature conservation. At RCU, we are establishing strategic partnerships for all our key pillars: Heritage, culture and art. The aims are multiple: To expand our expertise and presence, to promote AlUla globally, and to co-create the future of AlUla with international standards and benchmarks.
Our key partnership with AFALULA (Agence française pour le développement d’AlUla), for example, was established with the French government.
RCU and AFALULA have been working as partners to invest in the people of AlUla through enriching experiences on projects spanning archaeological and archaeobotanical research, the development of new archaeological excavation sites, the rehabilitation of AlUla Old Town, the development of tourist infrastructure, and agriculture.
Through the first two years of the partnership, 96 Saudi students studied in France on RCU scholarships as part of the alliance with AFALULA. This included courses in the culinary arts at Ferrandi and training as tour guides.
By transferring knowledge to Saudis and co-creating the future of AlUla, our partners show their commitment to our country’s growth through the three pillars of Vision 2030: A vital society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.
It is interesting to note that Vision 2030’s Human Capital Development Program observes that one of the indications of increasing output from Saudi scientific researchers is the concurrent rise in their number of partnerships worldwide.
As an African proverb says: “If you want to go far, go together.”
Let me conclude with a local example of the enduring benefit of partnership.
Perhaps the most famous monument at AlUla is the marvelous Tomb of Lihyan Son of Kuza at Hegra (pictured below). The Nabataean masons who built it incorporated many influences but combined them with their own skill and knowledge to create something unique. The tombs at Hegra – and there are more than 100 in all – include symbols and features testifying to the influences of the civilisations that were the Nabataeans’ trading partners, including those of Mesopotamia, the Hellenistic world and Egypt.
At the same time the tombs include indisputably local features linked to local beliefs, including the symbols of major deities such as the chief Nabataean god Dushara, the need for protection from harmful spirits, and a belief in the soul’s eternal afterlife.
They learned from their partners – yet their creation was something singular.
That is the essence of what we hope to achieve through the transfer of knowledge from our partners. We reached a milestone in that regard this month with the signing of our agreement with IUCN.
We look forward to hosting their experts at AlUla and continuing on the journey of learning together – a journey that will culminate with the expansion of Saudi expertise.
Abeer AlAkel, chief of Special Initiatives & Partnerships at RCU.
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