The plane was carrying 90 tons of food and relief materials for people affected by the floods
Updated 20 September 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s fourth planeload of aid to Libya arrived at Benina International Airport in Benghazi on Tuesday from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
It was carrying 90 tons of food and relief materials for people affected by the recent floods, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
A team from the Saudi aid agency KSrelief will oversee the distribution of aid with the Libyan Red Crescent.
On Sept. 10, two dams collapsed during the Mediterranean’s Storm Daniel, sending a wall of water gushing through Derna. Government officials and aid agencies have estimated that between 4,000 and 11,000 people may have died.
King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed KSrelief to provide the food and shelter for the flood victims.
Saudi Arabia’s three other planes had arrived in Benina on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, carrying 90, 40 and 50 tons of food and relief supplies respectively.
On Monday, the UN warned that a disease outbreak could create “a second devastating crisis.”
Traumatized residents, 30,000 of whom are now homeless, badly need clean water, food and basic supplies amid a growing risk of cholera, diarrhea, dehydration and malnutrition, UN agencies warn.
The UN has also launched an appeal for more than $71 million to assist hundreds of thousands in need.
Jameel Health Lab presents link between art, health and climate crisis at COP28
Art can be a ‘powerful ally in our quest to improve health for all,’ states WHO director general
Updated 6 sec ago
Rebecca Anne Proctor
RIYADH: In February the Jameel Arts & Health Lab was established to show how the arts have the power to help tackle climate change and the global health crisis.
From Dec. 1-3, the lab presented COP28 Healing Arts Week, a platform to promote the role of the arts at the intersection of health and climate. Included was a high-level panel in the COP28 Green Zone titled “Arts, Health and Climate” moderated by Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan, co-founder of Aeon Collective.
The lab aims to show more evidence regarding the relationship between arts, health and climate change, especially in displaced populations. (Supplied)
A panel on “Safeguarding Our Planet: Biodiversity, Climate and One Health” was held at the Saudi Pavilion in the Blue Zone featuring Princess Mashael; Prince Sultan bin Fahad, chairman of the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation; Princess Hala bint Khaled, president of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation; Raquel Peixoto, associate professor of microbiology at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Richard Bush, chief environment officer at NEOM; Christopher Bailey, founding Co-Director of Jameel Arts & Health Lab; and Catherine Cone environment and sustainability director at the Royal Commission for AlUla.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis,” stated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization. “The arts can be a powerful ally in our quest to improve health for all.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Jameel Arts & Health Lab is the first major arts and health initiative in World Health Organization’s history.
• It was established as a result of agreements between the WHO, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel and Culturunners.
• For more information about the lab’s work, check jameelartshealthlab.org.
“I have seen the impact of the arts on community well-being, and I’m very pleased that this collaboration (with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab) will help us understand the science of that impact in order to improve the lives of people from all backgrounds.”
The Jameel Arts & Health Lab is the first major arts and health initiative in the WHO’s history.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director general
“We are interested in connecting the arts and health with climate change because obviously the climate crisis is a health crisis. There’s no doubt that now the question is to understand whether or not the arts might be able to offer answers to these crises,” Clea Daridan, senior curator and culture lead at Community Jameel, told Arab News. “At COP28 we were trying to explore how the intersection between arts, health and climate change from a research and a policy perspective because it is through the implementation of policy that change can happen.”
I have seen the impact of the arts on community well-being ... this collaboration (with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab) will help us understand the science of that impact in order to improve the lives of people from all backgrounds.
Tedros Adhanom, Ghebreyesus World Health Organization director general
The lab focuses on overlooked and underserved communities. It was established as a result of agreements between the WHO, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel and Culturunners.
According to its website, the lab “will coordinate and amplify scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and wellbeing” by “leveraging data, artist-led advocacy and a global ‘Healing Arts’ campaign that aims to drive policy implementation across 193 UN member states.”
Clea Daridan, Community Jameel senior curator and culture lead
Stephen Stapleton, co-director of the lab and CEO of Culturunners, told Arab News: “The Jameel Arts & Health Lab has been at COP advocating for the important role of the arts in telling the story of the climate crisis as a health crisis.
There’s no doubt that now the question is to understand whether or not the arts might be able to offer answers to these crises.
Clea Daridan, Community Jameel senior curator and culture lead
“In so doing to inspire the behavioral change, on both a personal and societal level, which is so urgently needed … through arts therapies and self-expression, the arts can also help those most vulnerable to cope with the psychological impact of the perceived and real changes which are already affecting millions of people around the world.”
Through the lab’s COP28 Healing Arts Week, Bailey and Stapleton participated in various events at the Jameel Art Center, the Saudi Pavilion, and in the Green Zone.
Stephen Stapleton, Culturunners CEO
The week culminated in an evening with Ghebreyesus, hosted by Community Jameel and the WHO Foundation.
The arts represent a relatively new area in modern healthcare and one that has grown rapidly since the late 1990s. Recent research shows strong evidence for the positive impact of the arts on our health and well-being.
The arts can also help those most vulnerable to cope with the psychological impact of the perceived and real changes which are already affecting millions of people around the world.
Stephen Stapleton, Culturunners CEO
In 2019 the WHO Regional Office for Europe reported how engaging in the arts and creative arts therapies can have wide-ranging positive impacts and health outcomes, including mental and physical health promotion, ill health prevention, and the management and treatment of health conditions and symptoms.
Other research has demonstrated the benefits of general as well as targeted arts-based interventions for different populations, including community-based museum programs for people living with dementia, community dance classes for those living with Parkinson’s disease, music therapy to reduce stress and drama therapy to support the social and emotional skills of children and young people, among other examples.
The lab aims to show more evidence regarding the relationship between arts, health and climate change, especially in displaced populations. (Supplied)
Additionally, a 2022 report by the CultureForHealth project demonstrated how the arts can help to address specific public health challenges, including the need to support the health and well-being of young people, health disparities, and the mental health challenges faced by forcibly displaced people.
“Through the Jameel Arts & Health Lab we are generating data and rigorous studies to prove the effectiveness of the arts on health and well-being,” added Daridan. “It is by leveraging this data that we will be able to drive policy implementation across the 193 UN member countries. Now, when it comes specifically to the link between arts, health and climate change, this is also a specific area of research that the lab is currently conducting.”
This year, the lab partnered with the Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, one of the oldest of its kind, to lead a global series on the health benefits of the arts with a focus on non-communicable diseases, the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The outcomes will be published in early 2025.
Daridan added that the lab was working on a report, likely published in the first quarter of 2024, to show more evidence regarding the relationship between arts, health and climate change, especially when it comes to displaced populations.
For more information about the lab’s work, check jameelartshealthlab.org.
Third international event will feature exhibitions, live performances, workshops
Updated 4 min 55 sec ago
Arab News
JEDDAH: The third AlUla Arts Festival is all set to begin in the historic city from Feb. 8 to Feb 24.
With a captivating lineup, the multi-artist festival promises a top-notch experience for attendees, featuring flagship events, immersive exhibitions, live performances, photography exhibitions, street art tours, cinema screenings and hands-on workshops.
The three-week program aims to shine a spotlight on AlUla’s role as a hub for creative inspiration and cultural interchange.
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art. (Supplied)
It aims to stimulate imagination, foster dialogue and position AlUla as a prominent center for contemporary art and art integrated with the landscape, with a vision to revive ancient artistic traditions of past civilizations.
It will also feature the third Desert X AlUla, from Feb. 8 to March 23, which will once again showcase visionary contemporary artworks by both Saudi and international artists amid the breathtaking desert backdrop of AlUla.
Desert X AlUla, the inaugural site-responsive exhibition in Saudi Arabia, invites everyone to experience an artistic exchange among international and local communities and curators.
FASTFACT
The festival aims to stimulate imagination, foster dialogue and position AlUla as a prominent center for contemporary art and art integrated with the landscape, with a vision to revive ancient artistic traditions of past civilizations.
Rooted in a curatorial vision inspired by the desert, this exhibition is complemented by Wadi AlFann, a cultural destination showcasing permanent contemporary land art installations in AlUla’s breathtaking desert landscape, which is opening in 2026.
As part of the pre-opening program at Wadi AlFann, visitors to this year’s festival can enjoy an exhibition by Saudi artist Manal Al-Dowayan.
Her work captures stories from AlUla’s communities, setting the stage for her groundbreaking commission, “Oasis of Stories.”
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art. (Supplied)
The Saudi contemporary artist Al-Dowayan is also set to represent the Kingdom at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, taking place from April 20-Nov. 24.
The festival also features the exhibition “More than Meets the Eye,” a key component of the flagship event lineup.
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art.
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art. (Supplied)
This documentation offers the stories of artists and recent art movements and serves as part of the pre-opening program for AlUla’s contemporary art museum, focusing on regional and global contemporary art with an emphasis on the Arab world.
Madrasat Addeera, AlUla’s mixed-use creative hub, provides the backdrop for workshops spanning palm-weaving, pottery, jewelry-making, geometry, 3D structures, textiles, and more. Additionally, culture enthusiasts can explore Design Space AlUla, set to open during the Arts Festival with its inaugural exhibition.
Jameel Health Lab presents link between art, health and climate crisis at COP28
Art can be a ‘powerful ally in our quest to improve health for all,’ states WHO director general
Updated 6 min 15 sec ago
Rebecca Anne Proctor
RIYADH: In February the Jameel Arts & Health Lab was established to show how the arts have the power to help tackle climate change and the global health crisis.
From Dec. 1-3, the lab presented COP28 Healing Arts Week, a platform to promote the role of the arts at the intersection of health and climate. Included was a high-level panel in the COP28 Green Zone titled “Arts, Health and Climate” moderated by Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan, co-founder of Aeon Collective.
The lab aims to show more evidence regarding the relationship between arts, health and climate change, especially in displaced populations. (Supplied)
A panel on “Safeguarding Our Planet: Biodiversity, Climate and One Health” was held at the Saudi Pavilion in the Blue Zone featuring Princess Mashael; Prince Sultan bin Fahad, chairman of the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation; Princess Hala bint Khaled, president of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation; Raquel Peixoto, associate professor of microbiology at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Richard Bush, chief environment officer at NEOM; Christopher Bailey, founding Co-Director of Jameel Arts & Health Lab; and Catherine Cone environment and sustainability director at the Royal Commission for AlUla.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis,” stated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization. “The arts can be a powerful ally in our quest to improve health for all.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Jameel Arts & Health Lab is the first major arts and health initiative in World Health Organization’s history.
• It was established as a result of agreements between the WHO, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel and Culturunners.
• For more information about the lab’s work, check jameelartshealthlab.org.
“I have seen the impact of the arts on community well-being, and I’m very pleased that this collaboration (with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab) will help us understand the science of that impact in order to improve the lives of people from all backgrounds.”
The Jameel Arts & Health Lab is the first major arts and health initiative in the WHO’s history.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director general
“We are interested in connecting the arts and health with climate change because obviously the climate crisis is a health crisis. There’s no doubt that now the question is to understand whether or not the arts might be able to offer answers to these crises,” Clea Daridan, senior curator and culture lead at Community Jameel, told Arab News. “At COP28 we were trying to explore how the intersection between arts, health and climate change from a research and a policy perspective because it is through the implementation of policy that change can happen.”
I have seen the impact of the arts on community well-being ... this collaboration (with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab) will help us understand the science of that impact in order to improve the lives of people from all backgrounds.
Tedros Adhanom, Ghebreyesus World Health Organization director general
The lab focuses on overlooked and underserved communities. It was established as a result of agreements between the WHO, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel and Culturunners.
According to its website, the lab “will coordinate and amplify scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and wellbeing” by “leveraging data, artist-led advocacy and a global ‘Healing Arts’ campaign that aims to drive policy implementation across 193 UN member states.”
Clea Daridan, Community Jameel senior curator and culture lead
Stephen Stapleton, co-director of the lab and CEO of Culturunners, told Arab News: “The Jameel Arts & Health Lab has been at COP advocating for the important role of the arts in telling the story of the climate crisis as a health crisis.
There’s no doubt that now the question is to understand whether or not the arts might be able to offer answers to these crises.
Clea Daridan, Community Jameel senior curator and culture lead
“In so doing to inspire the behavioral change, on both a personal and societal level, which is so urgently needed … through arts therapies and self-expression, the arts can also help those most vulnerable to cope with the psychological impact of the perceived and real changes which are already affecting millions of people around the world.”
Through the lab’s COP28 Healing Arts Week, Bailey and Stapleton participated in various events at the Jameel Art Center, the Saudi Pavilion, and in the Green Zone.
Stephen Stapleton, Culturunners CEO
The week culminated in an evening with Ghebreyesus, hosted by Community Jameel and the WHO Foundation.
The arts represent a relatively new area in modern healthcare and one that has grown rapidly since the late 1990s. Recent research shows strong evidence for the positive impact of the arts on our health and well-being.
The arts can also help those most vulnerable to cope with the psychological impact of the perceived and real changes which are already affecting millions of people around the world.
Stephen Stapleton, Culturunners CEO
In 2019 the WHO Regional Office for Europe reported how engaging in the arts and creative arts therapies can have wide-ranging positive impacts and health outcomes, including mental and physical health promotion, ill health prevention, and the management and treatment of health conditions and symptoms.
Other research has demonstrated the benefits of general as well as targeted arts-based interventions for different populations, including community-based museum programs for people living with dementia, community dance classes for those living with Parkinson’s disease, music therapy to reduce stress and drama therapy to support the social and emotional skills of children and young people, among other examples.
The lab aims to show more evidence regarding the relationship between arts, health and climate change, especially in displaced populations. (Supplied)
Additionally, a 2022 report by the CultureForHealth project demonstrated how the arts can help to address specific public health challenges, including the need to support the health and well-being of young people, health disparities, and the mental health challenges faced by forcibly displaced people.
“Through the Jameel Arts & Health Lab we are generating data and rigorous studies to prove the effectiveness of the arts on health and well-being,” added Daridan. “It is by leveraging this data that we will be able to drive policy implementation across the 193 UN member countries. Now, when it comes specifically to the link between arts, health and climate change, this is also a specific area of research that the lab is currently conducting.”
This year, the lab partnered with the Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, one of the oldest of its kind, to lead a global series on the health benefits of the arts with a focus on non-communicable diseases, the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The outcomes will be published in early 2025.
Daridan added that the lab was working on a report, likely published in the first quarter of 2024, to show more evidence regarding the relationship between arts, health and climate change, especially when it comes to displaced populations.
For more information about the lab’s work, check jameelartshealthlab.org.
Third international event will feature exhibitions, live performances, workshops
Updated 7 min 52 sec ago
Arab News
JEDDAH: The third AlUla Arts Festival is all set to begin in the historic city from Feb. 8 to Feb 24.
With a captivating lineup, the multi-artist festival promises a top-notch experience for attendees, featuring flagship events, immersive exhibitions, live performances, photography exhibitions, street art tours, cinema screenings and hands-on workshops.
The three-week program aims to shine a spotlight on AlUla’s role as a hub for creative inspiration and cultural interchange.
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art. (Supplied)
It aims to stimulate imagination, foster dialogue and position AlUla as a prominent center for contemporary art and art integrated with the landscape, with a vision to revive ancient artistic traditions of past civilizations.
It will also feature the third Desert X AlUla, from Feb. 8 to March 23, which will once again showcase visionary contemporary artworks by both Saudi and international artists amid the breathtaking desert backdrop of AlUla.
Desert X AlUla, the inaugural site-responsive exhibition in Saudi Arabia, invites everyone to experience an artistic exchange among international and local communities and curators.
FASTFACT
The festival aims to stimulate imagination, foster dialogue and position AlUla as a prominent center for contemporary art and art integrated with the landscape, with a vision to revive ancient artistic traditions of past civilizations.
Rooted in a curatorial vision inspired by the desert, this exhibition is complemented by Wadi AlFann, a cultural destination showcasing permanent contemporary land art installations in AlUla’s breathtaking desert landscape, which is opening in 2026.
As part of the pre-opening program at Wadi AlFann, visitors to this year’s festival can enjoy an exhibition by Saudi artist Manal Al-Dowayan.
Her work captures stories from AlUla’s communities, setting the stage for her groundbreaking commission, “Oasis of Stories.”
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art. (Supplied)
The Saudi contemporary artist Al-Dowayan is also set to represent the Kingdom at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, taking place from April 20-Nov. 24.
The festival also features the exhibition “More than Meets the Eye,” a key component of the flagship event lineup.
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art.
Attendees can explore modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists, with support from prominent art collectors aiming to re-canonize the history of Saudi Arabian art. (Supplied)
This documentation offers the stories of artists and recent art movements and serves as part of the pre-opening program for AlUla’s contemporary art museum, focusing on regional and global contemporary art with an emphasis on the Arab world.
Madrasat Addeera, AlUla’s mixed-use creative hub, provides the backdrop for workshops spanning palm-weaving, pottery, jewelry-making, geometry, 3D structures, textiles, and more. Additionally, culture enthusiasts can explore Design Space AlUla, set to open during the Arts Festival with its inaugural exhibition.
NAUSS hosts 6th international forensic sciences conference
NAUSS issued more than 53 publications that discussed forensic sciences and forensic medicine in Arabic and English, which have become main references for researchers and enriched the Arab library specialized in this field
Updated 8 min 32 sec ago
SPA
RIYADH: The 6th International Conference on Forensic Sciences & Forensic Medicine 2023 began on Tuesday at the headquarters of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in Riyadh.
The three-day event will be attended by about 700 specialists and experts in forensic sciences, forensic medicine and criminology from the Arab Society for Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine, the Arab region, Pakistan, US, UK, Australia, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Serbia and Brazil, among other international organizations.
Prof. Tariq Al-Rayes, vice president of NAUSS, said that the university took due care of forensic sciences and its laboratories given the role these play in achieving criminal justice and crime detection.
He said that the conference was held with the participation of a large number of experts from Arab countries and from around the world. It is considered an important event in forensic medicine as it keeps experts updated on the newest discoveries in this vital field.
Al-Rayes said that the university was seeking to enhance cooperation and exchange ideas and expertise during the conference.
A worldwide distinguished scientific body of experts was attracted to this event.
An accompanying exhibition was organized in which several leading companies in the fields of forensic sciences and forensic medicine participated to introduce scientific and security institutions and bodies to their products.
Al-Rayes said that the university was interested in applied training aimed at enhancing the performance of those working in the field of forensic investigation in general and those working in forensic laboratories in particular.
Based on that interest, the university launched numerous academic forensic sciences programs, while its laboratories underwent constant development to keep pace with the latest developments and technologies.
The university also established several centers of excellence to serve the comprehensive concept of security, which constituted a scientific addition that meets the aspirations of Arab families in security-related fields.
Professor Michael Thali, chair of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, stressed in his address the importance of the conference and its role in promoting communication among specialists in forensic medicine.
“The outcomes of previous conferences have positively contributed to the development of a number of areas in the field of forensic sciences and provided the participants with the latest developments related to their fields of specialization,” he said.
The conference will discuss scientific papers focused on several topics, namely forensic genetic tracks, forensic toxicology and chemistry, cybercrimes, digital forensics, forensic medicine, pathology, forgery and counterfeiting, crime scenes, forensic naturalism, anthropology, criminal law as well as crises and disasters.
The conference will also feature several specialized workshops.
NAUSS issued more than 53 publications that discussed forensic sciences and forensic medicine in Arabic and English, which have become main references for researchers and enriched the Arab library specialized in this field.
