Under the gaze of more than 300 intellectuals, writers, artists and artisans from the Kingdom and around the world, the 28th annual Janadriyah Cultural Festival had its official launch on Wednesday before opening its doors to the general public yesterday in the town of Janadriyah, 42 km northeast of Riyadh.
Camel races, horse races, musical and dance performances, crafts fairs and offerings of traditional cuisine will accompany the stimulating intellectual give-and-take that generally characterizes the two-week celebration of Saudi culture, heritage and identity.
In addition to the crowd-pleasing sporting and shopping opportunities, the festival will host a seemingly never-ending stream of cultural discussions, such as the kick-off symposium, “Saudi Arabia and International Balance,” which focused on three major themes: Islam, energy and peace.
This initial symposium, according to Muhannad Baidhain, professor of human civilizations, is built on the centric position of the Kingdom in the context of its relations and communication with world civilizations. Saudi behavior, especially in this context, is governed by Islam, around which its system of relations with other countries is primarily evolving.
Since energy constitutes the nerve of the global economy, Riyadh has founded its economic relations with others on the principle that it never accepts tampering with the security of energy and to deal with it with utmost responsibility, he said.
He said this principle reflects the real meaning of Islam, which is dedicated to achieving security, stability and peace in the world.
Baidhain went on to praise the Janadriyah festival as a unique cultural and humanitarian gathering that promoted valuable intellectual dialogue among different think-tanks from diverse countries.
Yusuf Makki, one of Saudi Arabia’s best-known intellectuals, said the Janadriyah festival has made tremendous progress and has been instrumental in spurring discussions on a variety of cultural issues including media-related matters, the arts, Saudi identity, economics, management and international relations.
Mohammed Al-Adil, chairman of Arab-Turkish Society for Culture and Arts, said the Janadriyah festival has become a gateway for cooperation and communication among human cultures and civilizations. Festivals and forums are also instrumental in furthering diplomatic and cultural relations between nations, he said.
