Al-Jazirah The Kingdom's vast geographical area, diversity and wealth are all part of what makes it a great country. However, culture is not being given its due attention. This is despite the fact that it is the only tool that is capable of achieving a balance in society and increasing awareness, openness and tolerance. Several scattered administrations have been responsible for cultural development: the ministries of information and education, the National Guard, and the General Presidency for Youth Welfare (GPYW), among others. In an attempt to merge different organizations in charge of culture into one body, they were all brought under the Ministry of Information, and the ministry's name was changed to the Ministry of Culture and Information. Iyad Madani was appointed the first minister of culture and information. Did this lead to the fostering of culture in the Kingdom, as was the dream of the decision makers at that time? Or has culture lost its way more than before? Understanding the current situation, or the achievements of the ministry over the last decade, is probably more important than trying to answer those questions. For example, what has changed at our literary clubs? What has changed at the branches of the Culture and Arts Society? What about the public libraries in the Kingdom's provinces? What has happened to the publishing industry and the support to the Saudi publisher? What about setting up exhibition halls for plastic arts and photography? What has this ministry provided to the citizen as a beneficiary, on the one hand, and to the intellectual as an influential party, on the other? I don't want to say "Nothing" for an answer, so that I will not be overly critical or extreme in my opinion. General assemblies were formed for literary clubs, but they did not hold meetings. Nor were the boards of directors held accountable for what was accomplished and what was not. They only met to hold elections every four years to the board of directors, and then everyone went their separate ways. As for the branches of the Culture and Arts Society, they were not all that different from the clubs. They suffered the same problems. These administrations were on the sidelines in their respective ministries. Following their merger, they became a heavy burden on the Ministry of Information. They were not left with the poor funding they had under their respective government authorities, but they also never became a full ministry with a specific budget. The lion's share of financial allocations went to information, while culture continued to be left with poor funding. The matter caused more concern when radio, television, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), and the General Commission for Audiovisual Media became independent commissions. The agency for culture at the ministry remained solitary. It did not possess the capability to carry out cultural work as it had in the past. Its only achievement: running the Riyadh International Book Fair annually. Apart from that, the agency and culture have stagnated into a state of perpetual slumber. All this stagnation poses an important question: What if the state deals with culture the way it dealt with radio, television, the SPA and the General Commission for Audiovisual Media? What if it converts the agency for culture to a general commission for culture and arts, and appoints an educated and cultured president, and a veteran administrator to run it? This would help address the current failure in the administration of the Kingdom's cultural organizations. The same applies to an administrator who is not well cultured being appointed in a post that requires a person with wide knowledge and understanding of the arts and culture. They should be open to literature and arts as well as having solid administrative experience. They should be granted all the powers to enable them to develop and showcase an advanced and responsible national culture to a wide audience.
