DAMMAM — The Libraries Commission on Friday opened the first Culture House in Saudi Arabia at the Dammam Public Library in the Eastern Province. The opening ceremony was held in the presence of Libraries Commission CEO Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Asim.

Commenting on the initiative, Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah said in a statement on his X account that the Culture House is a beacon of life-long learning. The Culture House, which is supervised by the Culture Ministry, is a comprehensive project to boost advancement of the Saudi cultural sector.

This edifice promotes creativity and innovation in various cultural fields, encourages the development of talents and skills, and has a variety of activities, making it an ideal center for exchange of knowledge and an enabler of intellectual enrichment and cultural development.

These houses represent a gateway to knowledge, and a cultural and community platform, that aim to develop capabilities and skills, enhance the cultural identity of individuals and communities, enhance communication and interaction between them, and support creativity and innovation.

The Culture House includes multiple libraries for the public, adolescents and children, technical spaces, others for work, learning and innovation, main theaters for children, as well as meeting, study and music rooms, shops, printing centers, cafes, and other public facilities that make visiting it an integrated cultural experience.

The Minister of Culture had launched in June 2020 an initiative to develop public libraries in the country and transform them into cultural platforms with a comprehensive and modern social concept where all styles of cultural creativity meet, and individuals from different segments of society find what gives them knowledge, participation and interaction.

The initiative came after a field study conducted by the commission on the reality of these libraries in Saudi Arabia, and based on it, it developed a development plan extending until 2030 during which it aims to establish 153 public libraries in all regions, all of which rely on the concept of cultural houses, which harmonize the cognitive roles of libraries and the cultural roles of these houses.

The Libraries Commission aims to make public libraries interactive platforms that consist of all types of arts, and embrace all creators with their various specializations within one framework, in addition to their main cognitive role, to become beacons of cultural radiation in the regions where they are located. The ministry seeks to make culture a way of life for society, in order to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 in its multiple cultural, social and economic aspects.

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