https://arab.news/jft3w
Under the generous patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the first edition of the Cultural Investment Conference took place at the end of September, reflecting the scale of growth the cultural sector has witnessed in recent years. The event saw the signing of 89 agreements worth nearly SR5 billion ($1.3 billion), amid a large presence of international investors, fund managers and company heads. This demonstrates the Kingdom’s ability to shape the future direction of cultural investment and sustainable creative production.
Amid the rapid transformations taking place in the cultural sector and the unprecedented challenges they have brought, the conference emerged as a Saudi initiative aimed at contributing to envisioning the sector’s future, stimulating investments and creating promising opportunities in the cultural field.
Global indicators underscore the importance of creative and cultural industries as an economic and investment pillar for countries around the world, with cultural investment reaching an estimated $2.3 trillion annually, representing 3.1 percent of the world’s total output.
Given the vastness of the global creative and cultural industries market and its doubled growth over the past two decades, the Saudi cultural sector has received substantial and unprecedented support from King Salman and the crown prince. This has made the cultural sector one of the fastest-growing in the Kingdom. The sector’s journey in Saudi Arabia has witnessed qualitative leaps thanks to the launch of Vision 2030, the establishment of the Ministry of Culture, the unveiling of the National Cultural Strategy and the creation of 11 cultural commissions covering various domains.
