Al-Mohaimeed Al-Jazirah As we were running after development plans in the 1960s and 1970s building schools and hospitals, we never ignored fine arts. History is a witness to the fact that a number of pioneering artists and those who followed them received foreign scholarships to study painting at fine arts academies in Florence and Rome. These lucky artists included the late Mohammed Al-Sulaim, Ali Al-Raziza and Othman Al-Khozaim. All of them and others like Abdul Jabbar Al-Yahya, Abdul Haleem Ridwi, Mohammed Al-Muneef and Saad Al-Obaid received generous support from the government to hone their skills. They were also given facilities to organize art shows. This was part of healthy and natural trends in any developing country. Today the Kingdom dispatches thousands of students abroad on scholarships giving them opportunities to pursue higher education at reputable international universities and institutes. More than 200,000 students have benefited from the program since its launch during the reign of the late King Abdullah. But the foreign scholarship program focused on science and technology alone. The Education Ministry has dropped courses in humanities, including fine arts, from the scholarship program. No scholarships are being awarded to learn painting, sculpting and photography despite the fact these visual arts play an important role in developing not only people's aesthetic tastes but also their general awareness. Modern civilizations in Europe and America were built on art and literature. I strongly believe that we have to refocus on fine arts to give a new dimension to the Vision 2030 reform program initiated by the government. I am sure that the vision would not achieve its objectives in full and realize the nation's ambitions and dreams in the absence of art and literature and without music, painting, sculpture and theater arts, which represent what is happening around the world. Fine arts will definitely enhance the Kingdom's openness to the modern world. I hope the authorities would review the foreign scholarship program to include fine arts in its scope. Why don't we send abroad students who show interests in music, drama and painting to help them join reputable institutions to develop their skills? This will help us develop a fine arts industry, which will contribute to the Kingdom's gross domestic product. This proposal is significant as a large number of young Saudi men and women are interested in fine arts. I hope the Education Ministry would allocate some seats for students interested in fine arts to join international institutions of higher learning. This does not mean we ignore science and technology. Both streams are important as we walk on both legs and our focus should be on both science and humanities. It's time we express our opinion on this matter.
