The Saudi Ministry of Culture on Thursday honored the first batch of graduates of its prestigious Cultural Scholarship Program in a ceremony held at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh. Deputy Minister of Culture Hamed Fayez and a number of ministry officials, prominent cultural figures, as well as the scholarship students, their parents and families attended the ceremony. A total of 157 young Saudi men and women have graduated in a number of cultural specializations from reputable institutions around the world. The program provided exceptional opportunities to create a distinguished generation of cultural pioneers, and qualify them to keep pace with a new cultural and vital phase being witnessed by the Kingdom. Speaking on the occasion, Fayez said that developing cultural capabilities contributes to enhancing effective dialogue between cultures and peoples, exchanging knowledge across generations, and competing globally in creative industries in various fields. The deputy minister emphasized that the Cultural Scholarship Program would enable the graduates to continue their journey to contribute to the prosperity of the Kingdom in various cultural domains. He called on those passionate about the cultural specializations available in the program to come forward to register so as to enrich their experience and career. In the lobby of the King Fahd Cultural Center Theater, some graduates demonstrated performances featuring their cultural specializations, and showed the new dimensions that were added to their awareness, skills, and perception, including short films, artistic and musical works, portraits, and creative sculptures. Some major cultural performances were also held on the occasion. The first of which was a play titled “The footsteps of the ancestors followed by the grandchildren”, and the second was a musical performance titled “We build on what they did” by an orchestra band, in addition to a visual presentation telling the story of the scholarship program since its launch, its successive achievements, besides interviews with graduating students reviewing their experiences in their respective countries of scholarship. The performances were followed by honoring of the graduates. The ministry launched the Cultural Scholarship Program within the National Strategy for Culture, under the umbrella of Saudi Vision 2030 in 2019. This program aimed to enable creative men and women in Saudi Arabia to join the most prominent educational institutions that include cultural specializations in various countries of the world. The program provided unique educational opportunities for male and female students that enabled them to study cultural and artistic specializations in world-class universities in fields such as archaeology, design, museums, music, theater, filmmaking, literature, visual arts, and culinary arts.