A major new arts event has been added to the regional calendar.
Ad Diriyah Biennale Foundation for Contemporary Art, to be held in Saudi Arabia from 2021, will operate with interchangeable themes.
The inaugural event will be dedicated to contemporary art, while Islamic art will be highlighted in 2022.
The news was announced by the kingdom's Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan, who also leads the board of directors of the recently established Thunaiyat Ad Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
Through the biennale and other planned initiatives, the organisation aims to evolve Saudi Arabia's contemporary arts scene and position Ad Diriyah as a regional and international hub for culture.
The biennale was announced via Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media twitter account.
Where is Ad Diriyah?
Home to Unesco-listed 15th-century site of At-Turaif, Ad Diriyah is regarded as the "pearl of Saudi Arabia" and is the centrepiece of the kingdom's tourism strategy. Located on the outskirts of the capital, Riyadh, the town holds particular significance to the kingdom as it is the site of the first Saudi state and the original seat of Saudi Arabia's Al Saud family.
Through a $17 billion (Dh62.43bn) development, the city will host luxury resorts and more than 100 dining and entertainment options. The first hotel is due to open late in 2021.
The location has already hosted a number of high-profile events, including the Formula E Diriyah E-Prix race in addition to the Ad Diriyah Season of concerts, which last year hosted the likes of hip-hop stars Lil Wayne and Future in addition to singers Pitbull, Shaggy, Don Omar and American rockers Imagine Dragons.
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The announcement of Ad Diriyah Biennale should be welcomed by the kingdom's arts community, which saw a number of planned events and exhibitions cancelled amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
In order to keep the scene active, the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture recently launched the Ithra Connect Season. The online initiative features more than 30 arts programmes, activities, courses and podcasts.
In an interview with Arab News, Rania Biltagi, a spokeswoman for the season, said the initiative aims to keep artists and audience engaged while remaining indoors.
"With the public indoors amid a time of global closures and social distancing, Ithra Connect was designed to bridge the physical distance between our audiences and offerings – ensuring constant access to new and engaging programming and content.”
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You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
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Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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