Private museums top priority: SCTA JEDDAH — The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) says that developing private museums and preserving their antiquities are among its top priorities. Dr. Ali Al-Ghaban, SCTA Vice President, was quoted by Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily as saying that the SCTA supports private museums run by individuals. “We appreciate the efforts of these individuals to preserve our national heritage.” The SCTA would be pleased to help private museum curators to improve their displays, provide them with licenses, advertise their museums on the SCTA website, and restore their national antiquities, Al-Ghaban added. The SCTA conducted an educational course for private museum curators two weeks ago on how to display, preserve and restore antiquities, said Al-Ghaban. Recently, Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of the SCTA, lauded the state's support for the cultural initiatives being adopted by his organization and executed by a number of government authorities. Prince Sultan pointed out that the SCTA wanted to ensure citizens are linked to their history and national heritage. He said the SCTA was working on plans to ensure the development of private museums and increasing its share of visitors. “The Kingdom is an open museum that has a wealth of archeological and heritage sites in different regions,” he said.
