Madinah greening project plants trees, vegetation

Officials and representatives of government entities and associations along with locals participate in the greening activity at the King Abdulaziz Protected Pasture in Al Hanakiyah governorate. (SPA photo)
Short Url
Updated 28 October 2024
Follow

Madinah greening project plants trees, vegetation

  • Govt, private groups, and locals join forces for seeding, planting
  • Saudi Green Initiative project in King Abdulaziz Protected Pasture

RIYADH: A massive greening project was undertaken in the King Abdulaziz Protected Pasture of Madinah’s Al-Hanakiyah governorate over the weekend, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

Representatives of government entities and associations joined hands with locals to scatter seeds and plant wild trees.

The activity is a part of the Saudi Green Initiative to revive vegetation cover in the Kingdom, raise awareness about the importance of afforestation, and create green spaces that combat desertification and soil erosion.

The SGI initiative aims “to preserve a pristine and healthy environment, mitigate environmental pollution, rehabilitate desert lands, and enhance vegetation cover in the region,” according to the report.




Officials and representatives of government entities and associations along with locals participate in the greening activity at the King Abdulaziz Protected Pasture in Al Hanakiyah governorate. (SPA photo)

The weekend’s activity was spearheaded by the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, in collaboration with Madinah region’s officials.

Seeds of the Rimth saltbush, Arfaj, lemongrass, and Fourwing saltbush plants were scattered. In addition, seedlings of wild trees including the Acacia tortilis, the Acacia seyal, and the Acacia salam, were planted.

The Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the Saudi Green Initiative in March 2021.

This is an extension of the umbrella Saudi Vision 2030 plan, which aims to diversify the economy, empower citizens, and create a conducive environment for local and international investors.

The SGI seeks to protect 30 percent of the Kingdom’s land and sea by 2030, and the NCVC was created to spearhead the program.


How the UNFPA is working with Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief to protect women in Gaza

Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

How the UNFPA is working with Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief to protect women in Gaza

  • “This is the first KSrelief (Forum) I have been to over the four and it’s been an excellent experience to see how the work of KSrelief has grown the engagement and how it’s actually bringing partners together,” he told Arab News

RIYADH: The UN Population Fund is working with Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief to provide reproductive, maternal and protective services to women and girls in countries facing humanitarian crises in the region, such as Palestine, Yemen and Somalia.

“Whenever we are in a humanitarian situation, women and girls are always actually the first to suffer and they suffer the most in so many ways,” Andrew Paul Saberton, deputy executive director of the fund, told Arab News on the sidelines of the 4th Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum on Tuesday.

The UNFPA’s projects with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center are providing maternal and reproductive services as well as protection for women and young girls subjected to gender-based and sexual violence.

The UNFPA’s mandate is to provide these services in both humanitarian crises and more than 150 developing countries around the world.

Regionally, the UNFPA has numerous programs in place, including “delivering safe births in Gaza where there are mobile teams, and providing reproductive health services for 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza.”

When asked if the 50,000 figure from Gaza is on an annual or monthly basis, Saberton said that “at any moment in time there are 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and the number is between 4,000-5,000 childbirths a month.

“In Yemen we are providing protection services, making sure there are protection services as well as maternal health services.

“In Sudan, we are working with displaced populations and providing maternal health services,” he said.

Saberton added that services are provided both in the form of health clinics and mobile teams, “to make sure that we make childbirth as safe as possible.”

The mobile clinics are providing health services to women and girls in humanitarian situations that are displaced and may not have access to physical health facilities if any are even available.

“Nobody should die in childbirth anywhere in the world,” Saberton said.

“Within any crisis, I am afraid the situation always gets worse for women and girls. For example, with maternal health and reproductive health. If you look at the world figures there are about 800 maternal deaths every day … 60 percent of maternal deaths occur in countries subject to fragile contexts or humanitarian contexts so the risk goes up,” he said.

“This is the reality of the situation.”

“It’s important to realize the humanitarian situation seems to be getting worse every day around the world.”

“Nearly half the countries that we work in — and we work in 150 countries and territories — nearly half, or 60 plus, are in a some form of humanitarian context and often those humanitarian crises are multifaceted; it could be conflict, climate change-related or economic instability.”

The causes of displacement, people on the move, the economic situation and cramped living conditions are some of the issues Saberton highlighted that increase violence against women and girls in humanitarian crises.

Saberton said that this is one of the reasons why the UNFPA has protection services on the ground.

“We are providing both safety and also providing well-being, and social support, but also medical facilities for any harm to women and girls.”

UNFPA is providing 1,600 human safe spaces where women have psychological support provided to them, and can access any health resources and facilities they might need.

Saberton was one of the forum’s speakers, and he said the event was “an excellent opportunity to talk, meet, and share ideas and knowledge with other humanitarian actors.

“This is the first KSrelief (Forum) I have been to over the four and it’s been an excellent experience to see how the work of KSrelief has grown the engagement and how it’s actually bringing partners together,” he told Arab News.

“Our partnership with KSrelief has grown over the years and has been a very important partner to us in the regional countries and we hope that will continue going forward.”

 


First Saudi traveling art exhibition makes a stop in Riyadh

Updated 49 min 54 sec ago
Follow

First Saudi traveling art exhibition makes a stop in Riyadh

  • Filwa Nazer told Arab News: “The focus was to document and research Jeddah modernist architecture between the late 30s and early 60s
  • Inspired by an old handwritten remedy book passed down to her by her mother, it transforms layered silkscreen prints and charcoal drawings on suspended mesh

RIYADH: A Saudi traveling exhibition, titled “Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations,” opened on Monday in Riyadh at the Saudi Arabian Museum of Contemporary Art following its inauguration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last year.

Nestled in the capital’s Jax art district, the show brings together works by 17 prominent Saudi contemporary artists from different generations, regions, and artistic practices that demonstrate the country’s burgeoning art scene.

Basmah Felemban's "Brink of the Sea" (2025). (Supplied)

Mona Khazindar, adviser to the Ministry of Culture, said: “The Museums Commission is proud to present ‘Art of the Kingdom’ at SAMoCA at Jax, an exhibition showcasing Saudi Arabia’s dynamic artistic landscape, where tradition meets innovation.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Saudi creative practices in this way and invite audiences, both locally and internationally, to explore our history and culture through contemporary art.”

Daniah AlSaleh's "Hinat" (2022). (Supplied)

From paintings to installations and video works, the exhibition showcases the diversity and ambition of contemporary Saudi artists under two themes: the desert and cultural traditions.

Fatma Abdulhadi’s “It Will Heal” explores the evolving dialogue between humans and nature, where traditional practices become ongoing processes.

Fatma Abdulhadi’s "It Will Heal" (2025). (AN photo)

Inspired by an old handwritten remedy book passed down to her by her mother, it transforms layered silkscreen prints and charcoal drawings on suspended mesh. Just as plants communicate and adapt, the phrase “it will heal you, inshallah” reflects a belief in continuous connection and renewal.

“It’s a dialogue between humans and nature and everything in between, the recipe that humans do to feel safe, to feel healthy, to feel better,” Abdulhadi said.

Filwa Nazer’s “The Hands Want to See, The Eyes Want to Caress” (2021). (Supplied)

The sheets feature prints of the plants mentioned in the book as well as recipes in Arabic. The recipes are meant to help heal both physical and emotional troubles. One of the recipes for happiness recommends drinking camel milk with a drop of amber.

Moath Alofi has two works on display: “People of Pangea” and “The Last Tashahhud.” The former is a series of photos that provide an unconventional view of various locations in Saudi, while the latter is an ongoing photo series that captures small and modest mosques on the deserted roads leading to Madinah.

“These prayer rooms aren’t the usual ones, and this is what makes them really stand out. The raw architecture, the invention that the locals, tribals, Bedouins, or even philanthropists sometimes are trying to achieve by providing travelers a place for rest and worship and prayers—it’s interesting to see the material used, the architecture.
“I think international audiences will be surprised to see something that’s not usually shown,” Alofi told Arab News.

The work is shown in contrast with the anthropological sites captured in “People of Pangea” on the opposing wall of the exhibition.

“It’s not only about the locals or the people who built the mosques but also the ancient humans that actually lived on the land of Saudi Arabia 7,000 years ago. There has always been something happening in this Kingdom.

“You can see that Saudi artists are top notch — they’re up to the challenge, and I’m honored to be part of this as well,” Alofi said about local artists making it to international frontiers.

Filwa Nazer’s “The Hands Want to See, The Eyes Want to Caress” series incorporates sewing and embroidery on mixed media. The four pieces on display, each in dialogue with the other, explore the interplay of fragility and strength.

She told Arab News: “The focus was to document and research Jeddah modernist architecture between the late 30s and early 60s. My works were inspired by one house called Beit Ba Junaid — the owner of the house and its history and how it changed and evolved, and later on deteriorated over time and abandoned.

“I love being part of these exhibitions, organized by (the Ministry of Culture) and such, because I feel they are quite accessible to everyone, first of all. Second, they’re a place to connect with Saudi youth, and I want to have that communication with them, so I’m proud to be part of it and with my peers who are all great artists and friends.”

Other featured artists include Muhannad Shono, Lina Gazzaz, Manal Al-Dowayan, Ayman Zedani, Ahmed Mater, Ahaad Al-Amoudi, Shadia Alem, Faisal Samra, Ayman Yossri Daydban, Daniah Al-Saleh, Sarah Brahim, Ahmad Angawi, Nasser Al-Salem, and Basmah Felemban.

 

 


UN official calls for ‘scaling up and speeding up’ aid in humanitarian disasters

Updated 25 February 2025
Follow

UN official calls for ‘scaling up and speeding up’ aid in humanitarian disasters

  • Jorge Moreira da Silva: ‘In this critical moment, we need not only to scale up, we need to speed up and to provide the aid in a more efficient and fast manner’
  • Jorge Moreira da Silva: ‘I was impressed to see the convening capacity of KSRelief to mobilize so many people around the world to discuss humanitarian aid (at) this critical juncture’

RIYADH: According to the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Appeal 2025, over 1.6 billion people currently live in settings of conflict or displacement.

“In this critical moment, we need not only to scale up, we need to speed up and to provide the aid in a more efficient and fast manner,” Jorge Moreira da Silva, under-secretary-general and executive director, executive office of the UN Office for Project Services, told Arab News during the 4th Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum.

“I think that when an emergency happens, a natural disaster or a conflict, we don’t have the same time to plan as when we discuss development, and that is why the search capacity and the quick response is fundamental,” he said.

When asked how this can be achieved, the UN undersecretary stressed the need for more collaboration.

“Scaling up and speeding up requires more collaboration across UN agencies, more collaboration between the UN and the governments but also civil societies and the private sector,” he said.

He called for unity in emergencies, such as conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks, and climate disasters, stating: “We cannot respond quickly if we respond in a silent and fragmented manner.”

Da Silva also underlined the importance of “increasing the level of accountability and response.”

During his interview with Arab News, he commended the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center for hosting the 4th Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum.

“I was impressed to see the convening capacity of KSRelief to mobilize so many people around the world to discuss humanitarian aid (at) this critical juncture,” he said, adding that 25 percent of the world’s population lives in a conflict setting.

“Humanitarian aid has represented life-saving efforts, critical life-saving efforts for billions of people in the world, and I was glad to be a part of today’s conversation, not just about raising ambition but also … speeding up delivery.”

He spoke during a panel session on the first day of the humanitarian forum titled: “Resilient, Innovative, and Localized: The Future of Humanitarian Supply Chains.”

Da Silva reiterated the importance of collaboration, adding that “the UNOPS is an organization that is totally rooted in partnership and collaboration.”


Saudi Arabia urges greater focus on human rights in Palestine 

President of Saudi Human Rights Commission, Hala Al-Tuwaijri, delivers a speech.
Updated 25 February 2025
Follow

Saudi Arabia urges greater focus on human rights in Palestine 

  • Saudi rights chief highlights Vision 2030’s commitment to equality and global peace at UN session in Geneva

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia called for greater focus on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories at a UN meeting in Switzerland.

The Kingdom also reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

This was part of the speech delivered by the president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission and head of the Kingdom’s delegation, Hala Al-Tuwaijri, at the high-level segment of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Al-Tuwaijri said Saudi Arabia has made significant reforms in human rights, driven by Vision 2030, which is based on principles of equality, non-discrimination, and the right to development.

“This vision has empowered women, youth, and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, and migrant workers, while enhancing the quality of life for all,” Al-Tuwaijri said.

“Moreover, Vision 2030 has increased the efficiency of relevant authorities to host major global events and initiatives, with people and their rights at the heart of national priorities.”

Al-Tuwaijri emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening its legislative framework, which has built a strong legal system to protect and uphold human rights.

Through comprehensive legal reforms and new legislation, Saudi Arabia has reinforced protections for all individuals. The Kingdom now embraces a diverse society with over 15 million foreigners from more than 60 nationalities — making up over 44 percent of the population — who enjoy their rights under the highest standards of legal protection, she said.

Al-Tuwaijri reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to promoting international peace and security, guided by its core values and adherence to the UN Charter.

She also highlighted the Kingdom’s support for just causes and its proactive role in resolving global crises, including its efforts in the Ukrainian crisis.

Notably, mediation led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman resulted in several successful prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, Al-Tuwaijri said.

“For human rights to be universally upheld, we must cultivate strong societies by confronting harmful practices that undermine social harmony, including contempt for religions, hate speech, and the weakening of family values,” she concluded.

Al-Tuwaijri reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to deepening cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms, stressing the importance of respecting diverse values and embracing cultural and civilizational diversity to protect and promote human rights.


Saudi Arabia opens registration for Ramadan volunteers

Updated 25 February 2025
Follow

Saudi Arabia opens registration for Ramadan volunteers

MAKKAH: The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has announced the opening of volunteer registration for the holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the National Center for the Non-Profit Sector, the presidency aims to attract and use national talent to serve pilgrims and visitors.

Integrated volunteer programs in religious specializations will be offered, with plans to create more than 100 new opportunities, totaling more than 300 hours, the SPA reported.

A comprehensive volunteer database has been developed to streamline recruitment and communication, according to the report.

Volunteers are sought for roles in guidance, awareness, media, technical fields, Qur’an recitation correction, and translation.

The presidency also prepared a set of enriching initiatives as part of its operational plan for the holy month.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, head of the presidency, said the operational plan for Ramadan is centered around 10 enriching tracks.

He said the aim is to enhance the experience of visitors to the Two Holy Mosques, featuring more than 120 scientific, intellectual, and guidance initiatives to highlight the virtues of the holy month.