Saudi Arabia’s Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan announced on Monday that the Kingdom is donating $30 million to support the work of the ALIPH Foundation, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.
Prince Badr announced the donation during the foundation’s second donors’ conference, which took place in Paris.
The prince expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by ALIPH’s board of directors to protect cultural heritage that is under threat from conflicts.
He said culture is a key aspect of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development plan, and that his country takes an active role in protecting cultural heritage from a variety of threats and reducing the risk factors that can lead to its neglect and destruction.
“We are also working on initiatives that enhance protection of the heritage and culture of our rich and diverse country and the world at large: training specialists, empowering and supporting professional networks in the field of heritage, and establishing important international links to enable and coordinate joint efforts,” Prince Badr said.
The Kingdom shone a spotlight on culture during its presidency of the G20 in 2020 to highlight the role that the preservation of heritage can play in comprehensive and sustainable development, he added, and was elected by UNESCO to be vice-chair of the World Heritage Committee for 2021 to 2023.
“Our collective efforts are crucial to strengthening the roles of cultural heritage as an essential contributor to peace-building, promoting social cohesion, and providing a deeper understanding of our memory and cultural diversity,” he said.
ALIPH was created in Geneva in March 2017 in response to the massive destruction of cultural heritage in recent years in the Sahel region and the Middle East. The initiative aims to protect cultural heritage in crisis regions.
