RIYADH — Minister of Culture Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan announced on Wednesday the launch of the 'Little Explorer' initiative, which ensures involvement of children in archaeological excavations across the Kingdom. The initiative aims to educate the younger generation in all regions of the Kingdom about the importance of archaeological excavations, and raise the level of societal contribution to the protection and preservation of national heritage. It would also organize guidance workshops for children with the objective of providing them with information and the most appropriate methods for archaeological excavations. The initiative, which is being organized and supervised by the Heritage Commission, will be implemented in three phases. The first phase targets children from six to 12 years of age while the second phase targets children between the ages 13 and 15. The initiatives would cover educational facilities and major commercial centers as well as field visits to archaeological sites. The third phase aims to continue the participation of young people in the excavations on which the Heritage Commission is based on an ongoing basis, through field trips that are scheduled based on the seasons of archaeological excavation in various regions of the Kingdom. The initiative will provide guidance workshops for children with the aim of disseminating information and the most appropriate methods for archaeological excavations. This is in addition to developing spirit of teamwork in them, apart from imparting them all knowledge and sciences related with heritage and highlighting their rights and duties towards antiquities. The initiative also includes conducting competitions on the history and geography of the Kingdom so as to deepen the scientific knowledge associated with archaeological excavations. The archaeological sites that fall under the initiative include a diverse list of sites from different regions of the Kingdom. The initiative would also showcase virtual archaeological sites, which are archaeological sites simulating real sites that are scattered all over the Kingdom. The beginning will be from the historical Sudos village in the Riyadh region and that is in conjunction with the activation of heritage assets in terms of inscriptions. Through the "Little Explorer" initiative, the Heritage Commission seeks to establish an innovative concept in educating children and young people about the importance of heritage and antiquities and how to take care of them. This is through integrated applied tools and tangible physical models, in a way that contributes to activating the vitality of the archaeological sector and raising its level of attractiveness to young people, by developing mechanisms dealing with antiquities with sustainable modern templates. It is noteworthy that the commission, ever since its inception, has worked on strategic projects to protect the Kingdom's national heritage and achieve the ambitious goals of Vision 2030. Its programs tend to promote culture as a way of life, enabling it to contribute to economic growth.
