RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's cultural sector has witnessed robust growth at all levels during the year 2022, according to a report on the state of culture, released by the Ministry of Culture on Tuesday. The rate of Saudi women employed in the cultural sector soared 27 percent while the number of male employees jumped 10 percent during the last year. The fourth edition of the report on the state of culture in Saudi Arabia 2022 is titled "Investment in the Cultural Sector." The report contained standard indicators in the Saudi state of culture and opportunities for transformation into a sustainable sector. The report stated that the most significant feature of the state of culture during the year 2022 is growth at various levels, and this includes high levels of community participation in culture and cultural tourism, an increase in the number of workers, higher percentage of women's participation in the labor market in the cultural sector, in addition to the continued development work for major organizational structures such as laws and frameworks. The report also indicated that the cultural sector still needs more efforts to facilitate an environment that stimulates greater participation, creativity and growth. In the economic aspect of culture, the report said that growth was a prominent feature, as the number of Saudis working in the cultural sector increased by 10 percent among men, while the percentage reached 27 percent increase among women within one year. The other indicators tracked the levels of spending and consumption, as the entertainment and culture sectors achieved growth of more than 22 percent compared to 2021, and movie theater revenues jumped 10 percent between 2021 and 2022. The report revealed encouraging indicators of the levels of demand for cultural services and products, and the promising opportunity to transform cultural projects into sustainable businesses with rapidly growing financial returns. The report is available for viewing on the ministry's website, as it tracks the Saudi cultural movement during the past year, with an inventory of its most important and prominent developments and achievements and its challenges. The state of culture report sheds light on the local cultural activities, and it documented its most prominent trends, and monitored its indicators in approximately 266 pages, and across the following six chapters: management and preservation; creativity and cultural production; knowledge and skills; cultural participation, the creative economy, and investment in the cultural sector. Chapter Six, titled "Investing in the Cultural Sector," the title of the report, dealt with some important regulatory developments for investment in the field, starting with growth and support in the cultural sector during the year 2022, and passing through monitoring existing investments in the cultural sector. The report also reviews the legislative texts and laws related to investment in cultural sectors, through intellectual property rights and national strategies, in addition to tourism rules and regulations. The chapter ends with support and empowerment in the cultural sector, represented by the support programs provided by the Cultural Fund, and a review of promising investment opportunities in the cultural sector. The chapters of the report follow extensive details to provide an integrated picture of the state of the culture sector and developments in it during the year, and it deals with each dimension in a separate chapter, through which it evaluates the reality of sustainable management of cultural heritage and service of the Arabic language, the efficiency of infrastructure, developments in regulatory frameworks and support. It also measures levels of cultural production in publishing, audio-visual production, arts and designs, theater and performing arts, in addition to monitoring the awards won by creative people locally and internationally. The state of culture report comes as a knowledge product provided by the ministry to all those interested in monitoring the local cultural movement inside and outside the Kingdom. It provides a systematic reading that shows the challenges and documents the achievements, according to an objective structure that reflects the dimensions of the cultural reality in its various sectors, and treats culture as a single, indivisible structure, with the aim of creating a foundational knowledge point that is updated periodically and is based on approved research and studies.
