On Wednesday, 28 January 2026, at the headquarters of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, the activities of the first workshop within the "Culture and Green Future" initiative began, in cooperation between ALECSO and the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the first axis of the initiative under the title: "Culture and Sustainable Development: Relying on the Power of Culture to Achieve Sustainability and Promote the Green Future".

The workshop is held over the two days of 28 and 29 January 2026, in the presence of the members of the Permanent Committee for Arab Culture and a select group of cultural policy experts in the Arab world.

The opening session of the workshop witnessed opening remarks from each of: His Excellency the Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization Professor Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Abu Abah, Director-General of Organizations at the Ministry of Culture – head of the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Mr. Rashid Mustafa, representative of the Kingdom of Morocco and chairman of the Permanent Committee for Arab Culture, and His Excellency Dr. Youssef Badr Mishari, Director of the Department of Culture and Dialogue of Civilizations at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.

In his opening speech, His Excellency the Director-General of the Organization explained that the climate crisis represents the most pressing challenge facing humanity today, given its profound impact on our lifestyles, values and practices, and a direct threat to our existence. Hence, the transition to a sustainable society requires a comprehensive cultural transformation, based on raising the level of awareness, changing behaviours, adopting new social standards, and rethinking our relationship with nature, the values of consumption, and the concepts of development and progress. Here, culture, in all its dimensions, plays a decisive role in spreading knowledge and strengthening commitment to the values of sustainability.

His Excellency expressed his highest thanks and great gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God protect him, for his gracious patronage and continuous support for all that would strengthen joint Arab action, consolidate the standing of culture as a lever for sustainable development, and a fundamental pillar for confronting global challenges, foremost among them climate change, and to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, may God protect him, for his ambitious vision and inspiring strategy that made sustainability, environmental protection and culture interconnected elements in a comprehensive development project, whose impact was reflected regionally and internationally, and contributed to launching pioneering initiatives, among them the "Culture and Green Future" initiative. He also expressed his appreciation to His Royal Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Culture in the Kingdom, for his conscious leadership and distinguished efforts in establishing an exemplary model strategic partnership with ALECSO, and his continuous support for transforming this initiative from an intellectual vision into a tangible Arab action programme with a sustainable impact.

For his part, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Abu Abah, Director-General of Organizations at the Ministry of Culture – head of the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressed, on behalf of the ministry's delegation, his sincere thanks to ALECSO for the efforts made in organizing this workshop, which comes within the framework of the "Culture and Green Future" initiative. He explained that this initiative, which was launched in the city of Riyadh during the work of the 23rd session of the Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Arab World, aims to strengthen the commitment of all cultural sectors toward environmental sustainability, through developing cultural policies and supporting environmentally friendly practices in the various fields of culture in the Arab world. He added that this workshop represents the first building block for shaping the axes and concepts of the initiative, to be the fundamental nucleus for the final outputs hoped to be reached in the closing workshop scheduled to be held at the beginning of next April in the city of Riyadh, hoping that the deliberations and discussions will yield a report to be raised to Their Highnesses, Excellencies and Honours for its adoption at the twenty-fifth session of the Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Arab World.

For his part, His Excellency Mr. Rashid Mustafa, representative of the Kingdom of Morocco and chairman of the Permanent Committee for Arab Culture, noted the holding of this workshop, which comes in the context of "activating and operationalizing the contents of the Culture and Green Future initiative", praising the efforts of the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in putting forward this constructive initiative. He explained that the studies and interventions that the experts will present within the work of this workshop, and in the rest of the upcoming workshops, will constitute a qualitative addition to the efforts of the Arab countries in consolidating the standing of culture and its role in comprehensive and sustainable development, and that the reports that will be prepared will become reference documents for ALECSO and a road map that can be benefited from to consolidate the role of culture in sustainable development.

The opening session concluded with a speech by His Excellency Dr. Youssef Badr Mishari, Director of the Department of Culture and Dialogue of Civilizations at the League of Arab States, where he expressed the League's appreciation for this qualitative initiative, affirming the importance of the role of the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in launching integrated cultural visions that harmonize with Arab, regional and international efforts, and contribute to transforming culture into an effective force in confronting environmental and climate challenges, consolidating societal awareness, and building comprehensive development paths centered on the human being. He noted that the workshop comes at a very important time, amid the growing need to exchange experiences, unify visions and explore new horizons for employing culture as a lever for sustainable development, in line with the efforts made to confront the effects of climate change and promote environmental sustainability.

The workshop will conclude with scientific and practical recommendations presented as a document within the work of the Conference of Ministers of Culture in its upcoming 25th session.