2024 Conference
SCHEDULE
Heritage Site Protection and Global Access: Case Studies of Kenya and Saudi Arabia
10:35 – 11:35 a.m.
| Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024 at The BroadHeritages Have Stories to Tell: Kenya, a country with a rich history of cultural heritage and natural resources, stands at the forefront of the global effort to embrace sustainable tourism and effective heritage site management, protection, and preservation. The nation’s approach to preserving its unique heritage, while welcoming the economic and social benefits of tourism, offers valuable insights into the principles and practices of sustainability in this field. This presentation investigates how Kenya is navigating the challenge of balancing public access to its heritage sites with the need to protect and preserve them for future generations.
Embracing globalization is widely recognized as essential for the future of countries throughout the Middle East. Economic modernization and diversification are critical for the stability and prosperity throughout the region. Protecting and promoting the region’s rich cultural heritage is a widely shared imperative. Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned in its deep appreciation of cultural protection and preservation. For nearly 40 years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has proudly asserted itself as the “Protector” or “Custodian” of two of Islam’s holiest sites. Today, Saudi Arabia’s strategic plan for economic transformation, Vision 2030, is among the most ambitious modernization plans in the world. In this presentation, we will discuss Saudi Arabia’s path toward modernization with the inclusion of promoting global access to the Kingdom’s rich and diverse heritage. Since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, Saudi Arabia has prioritized the promotion of its cultural heritage, ancient sites, and antiquities as a source of national identity and a means for opening the Kingdom to the world through tourism. This presentation shares many of the Kingdom’s governmental transformations advancing modern approaches to cultural protection while promoting its rich heritage to the world for exploration, education, and global appreciation. Preservation, protection, and security initiatives in the Kingdom incorporate technological innovation and design. Achieving Saudi Arabia’s ambition to once again be the world’s crossroads of ancient cultural convergence is dependent upon the Kingdom’s capabilities for site preservation and security of the visitors’ experience. We will also discuss Saudi initiatives as well as the multinational support efforts to advance regional peace and stability through cultural preservation. Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented journey toward modernization provides global opportunities to share in the region’s rich, diverse cultural experience and history.
