Ministry of Culture (Saudi Arabia)

Ministry of Culture
	; Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud, the current Minister of Culture since 2018
Agency overview
Formed	June 2, 2018; 6 years ago
Jurisdiction	Government of Saudi Arabia
Headquarters	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Agency executive	Badr bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister;
Website	Official English Website

The Ministry of Culture (MoC; Arabic: وزارة الثقافة) is a governmental organization in Saudi Arabia was established in June 2018 and responsible for various aspects of Saudi culture.^[1]^[2] The Minister of Culture is Prince Badr bin Farhan Al-Saud who was appointed as its new and first minister.^[1]^[3]

History

In 1962, the ministry of information was founded to be in charge of information and media before it was renamed to "Ministry of Culture and Information" in 2003 to include culture affairs under its umbrella.^[4] On 1 June 2018, the culture was separated from the media resulting in two different ministries; Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Media.^[1]^[4]

Cultural Commissions

The following list contains the commissions operating under the Ministry of Culture:^[5]


Logo	Name	Website
	Film Commission	film.moc.gov.sa/en
	Music Commission	music.moc.gov.sa/en
	Fashion Commission	fashion.moc.gov.sa/en
	Heritage Commission	heritage.moc.gov.sa/en
	Libraries Commission	libraries.moc.gov.sa/en
	Museums Commission	museums.moc.gov.sa/en
	Visual Arts Commission	visualarts.moc.gov.sa/en
	Culinary Arts Commission	culinary.moc.gov.sa/en
	Architecture and Design Commission	archdesign.moc.gov.sa/en
	Theater and Performing Arts Commission	performingarts.moc.gov.sa/en
	Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission	lpt.moc.gov.sa/en

Cultural Awards

Cultural Awards are awards presented to Saudi individuals, cultural groups and organizations for their cultural contributions. The awards are presented in an annual events organized by the Ministry of Culture. The Cultural Awards were launched in 2020.^[6]

The following is a list of award categories:^[7]

Main Awards

Cultural Pioneer Award
Youth Cultural Award
International Cultural Excellence Award
Business Owners Award
Cultural Institutions Award (For-Profit)
Cultural Institutions Award (Non-Profit)

Sector Awards

Literature Award
Publishing Award
Theater and Performing Arts Award
Culinary Arts Award
Architecture and Design Award
Translation Award
Fashion Award
Film Award
National Heritage Award
Music Award
Visual Arts Award

Cultural Years

Starting from 2020, the Ministry of Culture started giving a name that relates to Saudi culture to every year.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] This is a list containing the years and their corresponding names:


Year	Name	Website
2020/2021	Year of Arabic Calligraphy	Official Website
2022	Year of Saudi Coffee	Official Website
2023	Year of Arabic Poetry	Official Website
2024	Year of the Camel	Official Website

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Saudi Culture Ministry formed following a major Cabinet reshuffle". Arab News. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "Saudi Arabia's King Salman Issues New Royal Decrees". Asharq AL-awsat. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "Who is the new Saudi culture minister and why was the ministry established?". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Ministry of Media". Ministry of Media. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "Cultural Commissions". moc.gov.sa. Saudi Ministry of Culture.
^ Tashkandi, Hala (1 July 2020). "Saudi ministry launches National Cultural Awards". Arab News. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
^ "About the National Cultural Awards". moc.gov.sa. Saudi Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
^ TASHKANDI, HALA (6 April 2020). "Saudi Arabia's Year of Arabic Calligraphy extended into 2021 over coronavirus concerns". Arab News. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
^ Huang, Robyn (9 June 2022). "The country calling 2022 the 'year of coffee'". BBC. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
^ Al Sherbini, Ramadan (2 February 2023). "Saudi Arabia designates 2023 'Year of Arabic Poetry'". Gulf News. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
^ "Saudi Culture Ministry reveals 'Year of the Camel' brand identity". Arab News. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[:0-1] "Saudi Culture Ministry formed following a major Cabinet reshuffle". Arab News. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[2] "Saudi Arabia's King Salman Issues New Royal Decrees". Asharq AL-awsat. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[3] "Who is the new Saudi culture minister and why was the ministry established?". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[:1-4] "Ministry of Media". Ministry of Media. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[5] "Cultural Commissions". moc.gov.sa. Saudi Ministry of Culture.

[6] Tashkandi, Hala (1 July 2020). "Saudi ministry launches National Cultural Awards". Arab News. Retrieved 21 March 2024.

[7] "About the National Cultural Awards". moc.gov.sa. Saudi Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 21 March 2024.

[8] TASHKANDI, HALA (6 April 2020). "Saudi Arabia's Year of Arabic Calligraphy extended into 2021 over coronavirus concerns". Arab News. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[9] Huang, Robyn (9 June 2022). "The country calling 2022 the 'year of coffee'". BBC. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[10] Al Sherbini, Ramadan (2 February 2023). "Saudi Arabia designates 2023 'Year of Arabic Poetry'". Gulf News. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

[11] "Saudi Culture Ministry reveals 'Year of the Camel' brand identity". Arab News. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.

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