The Ministry of Culture has concluded a training program about "Global Geoparks Program", which is one of UNESCO's programs affiliated with the natural sciences sector as part of training activities for the "Experts" program, in cooperation with UNESCO regional office for science in Cairo. The training program was held in Riyadh under the leadership of Dr. Elsa Sattout, Specialist in Ecology and Earth Sciences at UNESCO, in the presence of 13 participants, including 12 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and one from Oman. The program addressed the basic concepts and history of UNESCO's Global Geoparks Program, its history, the assessment and classification of global geoparks, as well as shedding light on topics related to entrepreneurship in the preservation of geological diversity, the management of geological heritage, the effective management of natural heritage in the Arab region and a briefing about the Global Geoparks Network. The training program also included a number of tools and skills related to preserving and documenting geological heritage, geo-tourism and the creative economy. This is one of the specialized training programs carried out by the Ministry of Culture within the "Experts" program, which seeks to train 30 Saudi experts in various UNESCO registration conventions and programs during 2021-2022, the program also aim to enhance the percentage of Saudi experts in the field of cultural and natural heritage at the international level, increase the number of experts specialized in preparing and managing nomination bids at international organizations.
