Conversations under the tree: Saudi community space encourages discussions on environment

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Updated 26 April 2025
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Conversations under the tree: Saudi community space encourages discussions on environment

  • Riyadh venture part of wider network with sites around world  

RIYADH: A Saudi nonprofit organization has created a “tree library” in Riyadh, which aims to educate the public while providing a community space for environmental discussions.

AEON Collective’s initiative is raising awareness of environmental topics through organized discussions and offering opportunities for knowledge exchange.

Princess Mashael Al-Shalan, co-founder of AEON Collective, told Arab News: “We have a firm belief that if we are trying to tackle a lot of these issues we’re talking about in our day-to-day operations — climate change, energy security, biodiversity loss, land degradation — as we heard in Saudi last year, you need to have a way of talking truly about the complexity of these issues.”

The tree library was developed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when in-person meetings were restricted.

Princess Al-Shalan added: “We needed to find some way to make it a bit safer for people to congregate again in person, to have some of these difficult conversations and do them in a way that was consistent, of delivering on actionable dialogs, not necessarily just conversation for its (own) sake.”

The tree library is not only an area for dialogue, but also a garden where people can enjoy conversation while surrounded by nature.

Co-founder Princess Noura bint Turki compared it to a majlis, or traditional gathering.

She added: “They’re just respectful interactions and exchanges of ideas which then, even if you have a problem, you end up solving this problem or finding solutions. That is a win-win for everyone.”

The tree library is now growing and has become a haven for all types of environmental health and well-being activities.

Princess Noura explained that health and wellness were essential to creating a healthy community.

She said: “We provide them with the space, they have these conversations together, they work out or they do some healing practices and exercises, but at the same time they reflect on the space where they feel connected to nature and they start thinking about sustainability issues.

“They can have conversations around sustainability, around challenges that we’re facing, and come up with solutions. That way you get people from various backgrounds, various interests, to talk about subjects, to speak to them at the individual level. That’s how you create a community.”

AEON Collective has created a number of tree libraries around the world, including in Italy, Kuwait, Jamaica, Liberia, and the US.

Princess Al-Shalan described how these interconnected libraries were a representation of the underground mycelium networks that trees use to communicate.

She said: “(This) romantic paradigm is something that we’re trying to replicate in the physical and digital realm with these locations of the tree library, so that the notion of a system coming to the aid of its weakest constituents in a specific way is how we’re trying to address it.”

Although interconnected, each tree library is designed to serve its own local community.

Princess Al-Shalan said: “The priorities of each of those different jurisdictions are most definitely different from those in Riyadh.

“So while, for example, Failaka Island used to be the food basket of Kuwait prior to the First Gulf War, after it a lot of the land there was no longer productive.

“The return of those lands to something that’s a bit more productive as a vehicle for food security for Kuwait is immensely important.”

The co-founders of AEON Collective speak of how collaborative discussions often lead to stronger advocacy efforts and policy changes, with open communication empowering people to take action and promote a sustainable future for the planet.

Princess Noura said: “The whole idea is you want to inspire a new generation of support, and the way you inspire a new generation is by showing them through action.

“If we can work with people from our generation or our younger generation to showcase the positive impacts that can happen through an individual and at a community level, when it comes to environmental conservation, human well-being, then you are charting a way for the new generations and the upcoming generations to really have urgency moving forward.

“We hope that everyone feels that this is a space for them, where they can come and learn and contribute and also educate others, because that’s how we learn from each other and create stronger communities.”


How Saudi Arabia is embracing AI to drive healthier lifestyles in line with Vision 2030

Updated 22 May 2025
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How Saudi Arabia is embracing AI to drive healthier lifestyles in line with Vision 2030

  • From smart hospitals to intelligent PE planning, the Kingdom is harnessing tech to improve public health outcomes
  • King Faisal Specialist Hospital uses AI to streamline patient care and educate families on managing long-term health conditions

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is leveraging artificial intelligence to build a healthier, more active population — a central objective of Vision 2030, which commits to raising the quality of life for all citizens through physical wellbeing.

AI is playing a pivotal role in this national transformation, with its applications extending across the healthcare sector, educational institutions and even mobile fitness apps that support healthier daily habits.

AI applications now plays a significant role in healthcare, education and even mobile fitness apps that support healthier daily habits. (Getty Images)

One leader in this field is the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, which uses AI to streamline patient care, support post-treatment recovery and empower families through personalized health education.

“Today, we live in a golden digital innovation ecosystem in the Kingdom,” Dr. Ahmad AbuSalah, director of the Center for Healthcare Intelligence at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, told Arab News.

“It is a golden time for entrepreneurs, for innovators, for organizations and for researchers. In the hospital, we have a digital transformation journey that we take really seriously.”

Early this year, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh announced that it has successfully performed a robotic-assisted implantation of an artificial heart pump (HeartMate 3) developed by Abbott. (Photo courtesy of KFSHRC)

Driven by the healthcare transformation program of Vision 2030, the hospital’s strategy focuses on lowering costs, expanding access to care and delivering outstanding services — all supported by AI.

However, Dr. AbuSalah said that adoption of these new technologies must be strategic and sustainable if they are to have the desired effect on patient outcomes and medical practice.

“Some organizations build AI models, keep it for a couple of years, and then shut it down. Why? Because it wasn’t bringing value,” he said.

One of the most impactful uses of AI at King Faisal Specialist Hospital is operation intelligence, which helps to guide the patient journey from admission to discharge. The system uses predictive analytics to inform patients about their health and encourage targeted lifestyle changes.

“We built a system that will proactively predict a patient’s experience three days before their appointment for the cancer treatment unit,” Dr. AbuSalah said.

This helps doctors anticipate outcomes, manage expectations and intervene early where needed.

Dr. Ahmad AbuSalah, director of the Center for Healthcare Intelligence at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh. (Supplied)

The hospital’s AI tools also alleviate administrative burden on medical staff — a major cause of burnout. “If we remove the noise around the doctor, the care quality will be enhanced by itself,” Dr. AbuSalah said.

“You always hear the term ‘physician burnout’ because they are spending a lot of time on non-clinical tasks, on documentation, submitting orders here and there, generating reports. How can they focus on patients?”

By automating those tasks, AI frees up time for direct patient care, improving both staff wellbeing and service quality.

Outside the hospital setting, the same technology is helping Saudis to make better everyday health choices. AI-enabled apps now track sleep, diet and exercise, offering personalized insights to encourage small, achievable steps — such as walking or cycling.

In fact, walking and cycling are now the most popular forms of physical activity among Saudi adults, according to a 2024 General Authority for Statistics report.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Predictive AI can forecast patient experiences before appointments, enabling more personalized treatment.

• AI-powered apps help users to track their sleep, diet and activity for smarter, healthier daily habits.

• Schools are using AI to plan tailored PE lessons, making physical activity more engaging for students.

However, the report also noted a gender gap, with 23.2 percent of men being physically active compared to just 14 percent of women.

AI could help to close that gap, offering flexible, accessible ways for women to engage in exercise from home or within their communities.

Meanwhile, in schools across the Kingdom, AI is transforming physical education by helping teachers to tailor activities to individual students’ needs. This has made PE more engaging and inclusive — and part of a broader campaign to instill lifelong habits of fitness.

Last year, the Saudi Ministry of Education added rugby as an elective sport in its physical education curriculum, as part of an effort to promote the importance of having a healthy lifestyle among children. (AFP photo)

In a landmark move last year, the Ministry of Education introduced rugby as an elective sport — an initiative that underscores the growing importance of physical activity in the national curriculum.

But technology alone is not enough. To ensure lasting impact, experts say that the Kingdom must continue investing in infrastructure, educator training and custom tools that align with Saudi culture and goals.

Through such initiatives, Saudi Arabia is turning AI into more than just a technological leap — it is becoming a public health revolution, helping the nation move, live and feel better every day.
 

 


KSrelief chief meets UNICEF official in Brussels

Updated 22 May 2025
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KSrelief chief meets UNICEF official in Brussels

BRUSSELS: Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, adviser at the Royal Court and supervisor general of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, recently conducted high-level discussions with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell during the European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels.

The meeting, which included Saudi EU Ambassador Haifa Al-Jedea, focused on joint humanitarian and relief initiatives designed to enhance child welfare programs across global crisis zones.

Russell praised the ongoing partnership between UNICEF and KSrelief, highlighting how their collaboration has successfully delivered aid to millions of vulnerable children worldwide. She described the relationship as “an outstanding example of international humanitarian cooperation dedicated to serving children globally.”


Madinah university launches ‘Legacy and Impact’ project

Updated 22 May 2025
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Madinah university launches ‘Legacy and Impact’ project

 MADINAH: The Islamic University of Madinah has launched the “Irth Wa Athar” (Legacy and Impact) project, which aims to document its graduates’ educational impact and rectify data digitization.

The university said the initiative included documenting and rectifying graduates’ certificates from 1961-97 and collecting the data of 173,000 international scholarships offered by the university to its graduates from 179 countries since its establishment in 1961.

The international scholarships include more than 41,000 awarded to students in the fields of religious sciences, in addition to over 15,000 granted for studies in the principles and skills of Islamic preaching.

Some 27,000 scholarships were granted to students of Arabic language education, while 24,000 were offered for training specialists in other scientific fields.


Sakan wins Qassim excellence award

Updated 22 May 2025
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Sakan wins Qassim excellence award

RIYADH: The National Developmental Housing Corporation, or Sakan, has won the Qassim Award for Excellence and Creativity in the National Excellence Branch in its fifth session.

Yazeed Al-Rasheed, vice president for shared services at Sakan, received the award on behalf of the organization. He expressed his gratitude to officials for their support and recognition of national initiatives, saying that this was an incentive to continue efforts in cooperation with all parties.

Abdulaziz Al-Karidis, secretary-general of Sakan, thanked the Qassim governor for his support for Sakan’s initiatives and for following up and encouraging activities that achieved the foundation’s goals. Receiving the award would inspire the foundation to further enhance its performance and reinforce its core values, he said.

The win marks a milestone in the foundation’s journey and its commitment to excellence and innovation. The foundation continues to strive toward creating a positive and sustainable impact in the developmental housing sector by offering the best solutions and practices.


Black mulberry and damask rose seedlings distributed to farmers in Baha

Updated 22 May 2025
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Black mulberry and damask rose seedlings distributed to farmers in Baha

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture — known as Estidamah — has distributed over 20,000 black mulberry and damask rose seedlings to farmers in Al-Baha.

The initiative, carried out through the center’s tissue culture laboratory, is part of efforts to support farmers and transfer modern agricultural techniques to areas with comparative advantages. It continues Estidamah’s contribution to a former agricultural project which saw 52,000 black mulberry, damask rose and strawberry seedlings distributed across the area.

The aim is to introduce new types of seedlings, increase production efficiency and achieve a qualitative leap in the region’s agricultural landscape.

It reflects the center’s keenness to support sustainable agricultural development by spreading highly economically viable plant varieties, which are propagated using tissue culture techniques to ensure quality, genetic purity and suitability to the targeted climatic and environmental conditions.

The center continues to implement several programs that aid farmers by providing research and technical solutions based on sustainable agricultural practices, achieving optimal efficiency in using resources and maximizing production value, in line with National Agriculture Strategy objectives.