The Reality of Cultural Discourse and
its Future Horizons

Al-Ahsa 

Meeting Picture Album

  Final Statement and Meeting Documentation:

  Introduction:

- Discourse is thoughts, opinions, stances, and cultural and social events that a certain social group presents through studies, articles, shows, arts, literature and others.

- Describing the discourse as "cultural" is to distinguish it from other discourses, such as the political discourse, since this discourse is determined with what scholars, propagandists, thinkers, authors, artists, and others who are called "intellectual leaders", meaning who interact knowledgably with the issues of the society and nation.

  The Meeting Goals:

  Cultural discourse is the intellectual influence in the society and what directs its movement. It is described as the spokesman of the social movement and the changes the society goes through. Throughout this discourse the streams and groups express there ideas along with there intellectual projects. It also expresses the nature of the relation between these intellectual orientations.

  It is extremely important to read this discourse and speculate its future, upon which depends the investment of  this rich diversity in the Saudi Society, which also reinforces the national unity by producing a moderate national discourse, that expresses the Saudi society and the tolerance of Islam.

  Hence, King AbdulAziz Center for National Dialogue, as a part of its role and goal, initiated held a dialogue meeting on the Saudi cultural discourse.

  Meeting Sessions:

- The recent scene of the Saudi cultural discourse and its current direction.
- Cultural institutions and its influence on cultural discourse (religious, educational, media... etc).
- The issues of Saudi cultural discourse (privacy, patriotism, identity)
- Future aspiration of the Saudi cultural discourse.

  Description of the Sessions:

  First Session: The Recent Scene of the Saudi Cultural Discourse and its Current Direction

  Discussion of this topic aims to describe the recent scene of this discourse through it various aspects:

- The efficiency of the cultured intellectual individuals.
- The language of the cultural discourse.
- The means of the cultural discourse.
- Similarity, division, duplicity, and the controversy of cross-cultural relations.
- Spontaneity and future plans.

  Second Session: Cultural Institutions and its Influence on Cultural Discourse

  The dialogue will be about the role of cultural institutions and its influence on the cultural discourse, most important  institutions are:

- Media institutions: Its role in expressing the cultural discourse, its stance from the streams and cultural intellectual elite, its influence on the relation of these streams with one another, and the need to impartiality with all groups for the bases of ethics and professional standards.
- Educational institutions: Its role and influence on cultural discourse through its curricula and outcomes.
- Cultural institutions: From the aspects of its symbols, publications, and contribution in the social shifts, which the cultural discourse truly expresses.

  Third Session: The Issues of Saudi Cultural Discourse

   Discusses the issues that the Saudi cultural discourse tackles in its inter-debates, such as:

- Privacy
- Patriotism
- Identity

In the values of each one, its impact on the future aspirations, social progression, authenticating its Islamic values, its international communication, and establishing its civil society, and so forth.

  Fourth Session: Future Aspiration of the Saudi Cultural Discourse

   Discussion in this session relies heavily on the discussion of the three previous sessions. This reference to other sessions aim only to clarify, not to direct the dialogue in a certain pattern. The dialogue is open and discussion is too large to be fit into these elements. It is only limited by the titles of sessions that dialogue should revolve around up till they reach a result in a final statement or recommendations.

  Meeting Schedule: