The First Competition to document the industrial heritage in Saudi Arabia

A traditional building stands in Asir Province, Saudi Arabia, credit to Reuters
A traditional building stands in Asir Province, Saudi Arabia, credit to Reuters

The Saudi Ministry of Culture launched today the first national competition to document the "Industrial Heritage" in Saudi Arabia, with prizes amounting to about one million riyals, and an open participation for all citizens and residents through the website: eng.moc.gov.sa.

SPA—The competition is a part of the Industrial Heritage Program,which was announced by the Minister of Culture, Prince Badr Al-Saud. Theprogram was founded under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture at the end oflast April. The aim of the Industrial Heritage Documentation Competition is todiscover the most important features of this heritage in all cities andgovernorates of Saudi Arabia with the participation of Saudis and expatriates ofdifferent social strata.

Theindustrial heritage is one of the modern heritage styles associated withindustrial development in the world. It includes the remains of ancientindustrial culture, whether technical, social, architectural or scientific. Itconsists of buildings, machinery, factories, mines, refineries, and warehouses.

Thecompetition will be open for a period of three months from today till October 6th.The subscription requires sending pictures or video clips and information aboutany site in Saudi Arabia, the contestant believes that it fulfills therequirements of the industrial heritage through the official website of thecompetition.

Allentries will then be subject to evaluation by specialized arbitrationcommittees, with winners to be announced in next November.

 Thecriteria for winning the competition are focused on the effort exerted by thecontestant to discover the industrial site and certify its information.

Thecompetition is divided into three tracks; the first is to discover the sites ofthe industrial heritage, where the contestant is required to send pictures, videosand basic information about the discovered site. The second track is to recordthe stories and details of events affecting the industry and social life byrecording audio or video clips. The third track is all about documenting thestory of the industrial site through a research effort that includes thehistory of the site and its impact on industry and society, and the award inthis track to reach SAR300,000.

TheOrganizing Committee has set out the conditions and details of the competitionon its official website (engage.moc.gov.sa), including an explanation of theconcept of industrial heritage, the conditions of its classification, and thequality of heritage sites falling under this type of heritage.

SaudiArabia has an ancient legacy in the industrial heritage represented in pioneeringthe oil and gas industry, the desalination plants, the petrochemical industry,the mining and cement mines, and the transport system supporting the industryfrom ports and trains.

Thecontest seeks to benefit from the efforts of members of the community in alltheir segments to document the most important features of this heritage andcontribute to the establishment of the first national database of allindustrial sites belonging to this classification.

TheMinister of Culture and the Chairman of the Founding Committee of the Saudi Associationfor the Preservation of Industrial Heritage, announced on April 29ththe establishment of the Saudi Association for the preservation of industrialheritage with the support of the Ministry of Culture, at a meeting held inAl-Bujairi district of Ad Diriyah, in the presence of the Minister ofTrade and Investment, Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, the Minister of Energy, Industry andMineral Resources Engineer Khalid Al-Falih, and a group of industrialists.

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