The Saudi Ministry of Culture announced Sunday opening the e-platform to receive applications from Saudis requesting to join the Culture Scholarship Program. Applicants are those who wish to study majors related to culture and arts, most notably music, theater, drama, cinema, and film making. The courses that come under the scholarship program include but are not limited to archeology, design, museums, music, theater, filmmaking, literature, languages, libraries, architecture, visual arts, and culinary arts. All majors are available at bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degree levels in world-class universities. Spokesman of the Ministry of Culture Abdulkarim al-Hamid told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry is currently working on all levels to create an environment that stimulates cultural production that contributes to achieving the Saudi Vision 2030. The Program enables qualified Saudi students to pursue higher studies in the culture and arts specializations according to three tracks. The first includes students who are currently pursuing studies abroad at their own expense. The second includes those who have previously obtained acceptance for admission from accredited universities to study culture and arts. The third includes students who want to apply to join the cultural scholarship program for the first time. “The Ministry was keen to provide specialized and prestigious international universities for students under this program to apply to, including Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Singapore and Beijing, in addition to some institutes and academies specialized in some of its cultural aspects such as cooking, fashion, and others,” Hamid explained. He pointed out that the Ministry of Culture signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Education two weeks ago to formulate and study a complete concept to include culture and arts in the Kingdom’s educational curricula. The agreement also stipulates studying the inclusion of extra-curricular activities in schools and institutes. Hamid said this agreement needs between three and four months to be reviewed before coming into force. Saudi Arabia is currently witnessing an unprecedented cultural and artistic renaissance with the support of the leadership, Hamid stressed. He said his ministry views the education sector as a fundamental pillar of the cultural renaissance, indicating that it is currently working on an integrated educational project, one of its outputs is the Culture Scholarship Program. This program marks a great opportunity for all male and female innovators, he said, adding that the Ministry looks forward to the birth of specialized national cadres and talents that would contribute to the development of the Kingdom’s cultural and artistic sectors.