Riyadh, April 4, 2021, SPA -- His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, will patronize on Monday April 19, 2021 the closing ceremony of the National Cultural Awards Initiative, to be organized by the Ministry of Culture, at the Culture Palace in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture, praised HRH Crown Prince's patronage of this cultural event that will witness honoring creative people in the cultural field, including entrepreneurs and young people. The Minister of Culture stressed that this patronage is considered the biggest crowning for Saudi intellectuals and an indicator for the appreciation and interest the cultural sector receives from the leadership under the Saudi Vision 2030 that increased the value of culture and granted it a high status for being one of the components of the quality of life and a main element that shapes the national identity. The Minister also expressed appreciation and gratitude for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Crown Prince for their continuous and increasing support for the cultural sector and all creativity paths in various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The closing ceremony of the National Cultural Awards Initiative will witness the honoring of winners of the initiative awards that cover various fields of cultural activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The awards ceremony follows the journey of the National Cultural Awards Initiative since starting its activities in June, 2020, during which it received around 15,000 nominations from all corners of the cultural community. Nominations were distributed to branches and specializations of the initiative, including movies, fashion, music, national heritage, literature, theater and performing arts, visual arts, architecture and design arts, culinary arts, publication and translation, in addition to an award allocated for cultural institutions. Through organizing the initiative, as one of the initiatives of the Quality of Life Program, which is one of the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, the Ministry of Culture seeks to provide permanent honorary paths for cultural achievements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and celebrate the accomplishments of Saudi creativity makers, being individuals, groups or institutions in all cultural sectors. The event also emanates from the ministry’s belief in the importance of honoring creative people in a bid to further enhance the local cultural protection and move it to higher levels of quality and perfection, including creating competitive cultural atmospheres that can contribute to enriching and diversifying cultural content. --SPA 15:53 LOCAL TIME 12:53 GMT 0021 www.spa.gov.sa/w1535961