Saudi Arabia showcases innovation in healthcare at Riyadh exhibition
Saudi Arabia showcases innovation in healthcare at Riyadh exhibition/node/2582553/saudi-arabia
Saudi Arabia showcases innovation in healthcare at Riyadh exhibition
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The Saudi Ministry of Health is showcasing its latest projects in therapeutic and pharmaceutical healthcare at the CPHI Middle East exhibition in Riyadh. (SPA)
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The Saudi Ministry of Health is showcasing its latest projects in therapeutic and pharmaceutical healthcare at the CPHI Middle East exhibition in Riyadh. (SPA)
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The Saudi Ministry of Health is showcasing its latest projects in therapeutic and pharmaceutical healthcare at the CPHI Middle East exhibition in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia showcases innovation in healthcare at Riyadh exhibition
Event, held from Dec. 10-12, brings together more than 400 exhibitors from 100 countries and over 150 speakers from the pharmaceutical industry
Aligns with the goals of the health sector transformation program, outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to foster a vibrant society with a healthy life
Updated 10 December 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Health is showcasing its latest projects in therapeutic and pharmaceutical healthcare at the CPHI Middle East exhibition in Riyadh.
The event, held from Dec. 10-12, brings together more than 400 exhibitors from 100 countries and over 150 speakers from the pharmaceutical industry.
It aligns with the goals of the health sector transformation program, outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to foster a vibrant society with a healthy life.
Among the key highlights are advancements in biotechnology, highlighting the ministry’s support for the national biotechnology strategy, which seeks to position Saudi Arabia as a regional and global biotechnology hub while enhancing self-sufficiency in the sector.
The pavilion also presents investment opportunities in biotechnology, aiming to enable sector growth and establish the Kingdom as a global leader, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Key initiatives include implementing strategic incentives to attract international companies, promoting sustainable marketing, enhancing financing capabilities, fostering joint investments and driving infrastructure investments.
Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel said: “Hosting the CPHI Middle East exhibition in the Kingdom underscores our dedication to enhancing Saudi Arabia’s role as a hub for pharmaceutical industry innovation in the region.
“This aligns with the Kingdom’s efforts to implement the National Biotechnology Strategy, which aims to contribute 3 percent to gross domestic product, totaling SR130 billion ($34.6 billion) annually by 2040.”
Al-Jalajel oversaw the signing of agreements worth SR10 billion and announced partnerships with major companies, including Vertex Pharmaceuticals for a project valued at around SR1 billion, and Tabuk Pharmaceuticals with an investment of SR100 million.
Vice Minister of Health for Planning and Development Abdulaziz Al-Ramaih praised the transformation of the healthcare sector and the expanding role of private industry in the pharmaceutical industry.
He highlighted the Kingdom’s goal to lead the biotechnology sector in the Middle East and North Africa by 2030 through the National Biotechnology Strategy, which aims to create numerous jobs by supporting research, innovation and integrated biomanufacturing, while boosting the sector’s growth and competitiveness.
Al-Ramaih noted the pivotal role of the pharmaceutical sector in enhancing public health, strengthening health security, fostering economic growth and bolstering the Kingdom’s global standing.
Unified database of official government policies on Arabic language launched
Project aims to offer valuable resource for academics, policymakers
Launch ceremony attended by distinguished experts from across region
Updated 21 January 2025
Hebshi Alshammari
RIYADH: A new unified database of official government policies on the Arabic language from 22 countries was launched on Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman International Academy for the Arabic Language, in partnership with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, launched the Language Policy System Project in Arab States at ALECSO’s headquarters in Tunis.
The system has gathered language policy data from 22 Arab states, aiming to provide a resource that enables decision-makers, researchers, scholars and experts to undertake strategic linguistic work.
The project was developed in coordination with the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
The launch ceremony attracted a broad range of linguistic experts, institutions and specialists in language planning.
It was also attended by representatives of Arab states in the organization and secretaries of national committees, with more than 50 attendees in total.
The collaboration between KSGAAL and ALECSO plays a key role in advancing initiatives to promote the Arabic language, safeguard its purity and underscore its profound cultural significance, according to Mahmoud Al-Mahmoud, head of the Planning and Language Policy Sector at KSGAAL.
A standout feature of the project is its compilation of more than 1,800 language policies from 22 Arab countries.
Furthermore, the project links these policies to various fields of language planning, greatly enhancing the overall value of the initiative, Al-Mahmoud added.
KSGAAL will provide access to the extensive dataset for researchers, enabling them to leverage the information in a wide range of studies focused on language planning across Arab countries, Al-Mahmoud told Arab News.
The project stems from the academy’s belief in the value of language planning, aiming to achieve its objectives through conducting and publishing studies and research, as well as issuing periodic reports on the state of the Arabic language and its indicators, Al-Mahmoud said.
“The project is distinguished by its strategic significance in influencing language decisions, internationally and regionally, as well as its leadership in terms of both scope and quality,” he added.
Saudi book club brings together readers and writers from around the globe
Al Jalees Book Club was founded in 2014 and has a presence in Riyadh and Jeddah
American poets, novelists and academics from the University of Iowa attended talk
Updated 21 January 2025
Tamara Aboalsaud
RIYADH: Bookworms and aspiring writers alike were given space to explore their creative talent and learn from seasoned authors at Al Jalees Book Club’s “Writing Across Nations” dialogue session in Riyadh this week.
The club was founded in 2014 by Rana Hajjar, a Jeddah native who wanted to create a productive and welcoming community for local readers and writers.
“Al Jalees is my passion project, I started it because I wanted a space to fit in, a community that understands my interest,” she said.
Hajjar said that although the literary community has very much always been alive in Saudi Arabia, it was very difficult to find each other. So the main goal of the club was for her and others to feel less alone.
Elizabeth Willis, professor of poetry at the University of Iowa at Al Jalees Book Club “Writing Across Nations” dialogue session in Riyadh. (Supplied, Al Jalees Book Club)
Al Jalees has an English department, run by Hajjar in Riyadh, and an Arabic department, run by her sister Rabab, in Jeddah.
Hosted in collaboration with the US Embassy, writers from a wide range of genres and diverse backgrounds were encouraged to attend the “Writing Across Nations” discussion to listen to and engage with American poets, novelists, and academics eager to share the toolkits they have developed to hone their craft.
According to Tom Sleigh, a poet, dramatist and essayist with 11 books of poetry in his arsenal, a common mistake up-and-coming writers commit is comparing their style with that of other authors and trying to live up to those standards, when true talent and audience intrigue comes from the uniqueness one offers in one’s work.
“The idiosyncrasy with which each person approaches their relationship to language meant that there was a kind of utterly unapologetic relationship to writing differently than each other,” he said.
Echoing Sleigh’s words, Cate Dicharry, director of the Writing and Humanities Program at the University of Iowa, said that although she has always been an avid reader, writing seemed unachievable, partly because many of the writers she admired had passed on, creating an enigmatic image of the published author that seemed impossible to emulate.
Al Jalees Book Club hosts “Writing Across Nations” dialogue session in Riyadh. (Supplied, Al Jalees Book Club)
Dicharry also said that young, ambitious students are “reading really good work that is in its final form,” and getting very discouraged when their first drafts do not sound as advanced, creating a fearful cycle that dims potential rather than develops it.
Toxic comparisons aside, all panelists agreed that the key to becoming a great writer is to be a great reader.
Christpher Merril, director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, said that new writers will “fall in love” with a poet and begin imitating them, and if they are lucky enough, they will bore themselves and look for another poet to be encapsulated by.
“Bit by bit you fall in love with different poems (and poets) and then you find your way to writing your own poem,” he said.
In an interview with Arab News, Hajjar said that one non-fiction book everyone should read is “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” by Susan Jeffers, a self-help book Hajjar uses to advocate for breast and ovarian cancer awareness and prevention.
The fiction book she recommends is “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck, a multi-generational novel that explores the struggle between good and evil through the interconnected lives of two families in California’s Salinas Valley.
Recalling his time covering the war in former Yugoslavia, in preparation for writing his book: “Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars”, Merril spoke about how writing first begins with observing, whether that means observing people’s behaviors or the settings around you.
“Part of your job as a writer is you are paying attention, you’re taking notes, and you’re trying to think: how is he doing that?”
Through writing comes understanding; even if situations seem unclear at first, write them down first and examine the chaos later, Merril said.
Al Jalees Book Club hosts “Writing Across Nations” dialogue session in Riyadh. (Supplied, Al Jalees Book Club)
Responding to a question from Arab News, Merril said: “I am not going to imagine that I am writing from a place of knowledge about myself, I am writing from a place of vast ignorance, with the hope that some lights might go off along the way.”
Elizabeth Willis, professor of poetry at the University of Iowa, emphasized that writing fiction or other literary forms and understanding yourself as a person are both lifelong practices, so do not make your craft wait for you or it will be waiting forever.
Sleigh said that the quiet that comes with writing inadvertently gives you the space and freedom to work through matters in your own life, mirroring Merril’s “through writing comes understanding external concept internally.
Al Jalees hosts large events every month and over the years they have accumulated more than 120 speakers to join their sessions in over 700 events.
Moving Al Jalees online during the COVID pandemic helped open it up to the rest of the world
“When a book club turns into a culture club, turns into a club where everybody intellectual is all around it, it is a very positive impact for you, for your children, for your family, for your friends, and then you make friends through the thousands of people that you meet,” Hajjar said.
Readers and writers of all levels and backgrounds, as well as those simply interested in the community, are welcome to join their events, she said.
“Language is not just words; it is a lifestyle.”
Al Jalees hopes to expand its Jeddah-based Arabic chapter to Riyadh in the upcoming months, as well as to expand the English chapter to biweekly events.
Japanese artist nails it with designs inspired by anime, K-pop
Nail artist Hikaru Morishita has built a loyal Saudi following
Aim is to recreate clients’ ‘innate personality into the design’
Updated 21 January 2025
Sulafa Alkhunaizi
RIYADH: Japanese nail artist Hikaru Morishita is bringing her intricate nail designs inspired by anime and K-pop to Riyadh later this month.
Based in the UAE, Morishita will kickstart her 2025 Gulf tour with a stop in Saudi Arabia’s capital from Jan. 23 to 25.
She is serving a new and loyal Saudi clientele who are fascinated by her eccentric creations.
The self-taught nail artist told Arab News the story of her humble beginnings in 2019.
Morishita said she was left uninspired by the designs for nails in the industry at the time and decided to move in her own direction.
She quickly earned recognition: “People started asking me a lot about nails, and I told myself maybe this is the thing that I should pursue.”
Hikaru Morishita is bringing her anime-inspired nail art to Riyadh. (SUPPLIED)
She added: “Then I took my first client; she’s a girl that lived in the same apartment building that I used to live in … I spent five hours doing medium-length extensions.
“When I completed it (and) after she left my room, I had this joy that came from inside of me, and I screamed from joy … That is the kind of sensation I have never experienced, and I want to experience it over and over. It felt legitimate.”
For three years, she balanced the life of a nail technician with a job as a secretary at a corporate firm. And in 2022 she began her first international nail tour, landing first in Riyadh.
Today, she works as a fulltime nail artist and owns two businesses: TAMAMONO, a fine jewelry brand, and Chapa, a merchandise store for a penguin character she designed.
When Morishita begins filing and carving her transcendent nail designs, she enters a world of colorful self-expression, with the aim to instill a sense of confidence in her clients.
Hikaru Morishita is bringing her anime-inspired nail art to Riyadh. (SUPPLIED)
“What I really love about the way I do nails for my girls is not about me doing my favorite design on them, but I always try to make sure that I somehow recreate her innate personality into the design — like what she’s hiding and what is still sleeping inside of her.
“I try to make it shown on her nails, and when my girls see that, they say wow and have so much power.”
Morishita said she draws inspiration from “all the best nail techniques from each region worldwide” to create her self-coined style called “Universe No. 1 Almighty Nailz.”
She combines techniques from Russia artists, known for their detailed cuticle work, and Kawaii (Japanese) and Gyaru (Korean) charm nail designs, inspired by cartoon characters and gaudy embellishments.
Morishita is best known for specializing in the “encapsulation” method, a technique of painting nails that layers colors and holograms to create a “5D glassy crystal” look. Many of her designs are handcrafted in stiletto.
Hikaru Morishita is bringing her anime-inspired nail art to Riyadh. (SUPPLIED)
She prides herself on creating durable acrylic nails that last up to two months, given the labor and hefty price tag starting at SR1,100 ($293).
Morishita has created detailed dimensional designs inspired by popular Japanese anime including “Death Note” and “Demon Slayer,” as well as a bold nail set inspired by “Arcane,” a steampunk TV series.
Morishita has visited the Kingdom over 20 times and completed more than 115 tours to 13 countries.
“This is why I keep traveling and keep going no matter what, because I feel like this energy is just so rare, and we just make everything happen just by doing their nails.”
Minzal in Diriyah offers visitors new outdoor activities
The event offers visitors art workshops, live music, stargazing, horseriding, camping, and more
Stargazing, storytelling under the dark sky, and a warm cup of Saudi coffee while relaxing at the majlis on traditional Saudi seating promises to create long-lasting memories for people looking for calm away from the bustling city of Riyadh
Updated 21 January 2025
Haifa Alshammari
RIYADH: People are flocking to attend the second season of the outdoor cultural attraction Minzal, which this winter has a series of new activities to experience.
Organized by Diriyah company as part of its winter season programs, Minzal takes place at Al Duhami Farm in Riyadh from Jan. 11 until Feb. 22.
The event offers visitors art workshops, live music, stargazing, horseriding, camping, and more.
“I thought it would be a simple activity such as shopping areas and coffee shops. I didn’t expect it to be like this,” Mubarak Al-Mansouri, who was visiting from the UAE, told Arab News. “I was surprised and impressed by how it was organized and what it offered. It shows it was organized very well.”
Visitors to Minzal will be able to explore several zones, with each focusing on one theme. For example, one of the areas at the farm is Al-Khayal, which offers horseriding.
In this zone visitors will have a chance to learn about horse breeds and pick up riding skills.
“The connection between horses and Arabs and the family in general is strong. I know horses and I have some relatives who have a deeper interest in horses, so horses are closely connected to us. The place tells you how they are linked to our traditions and heritage,” Al-Mansouri said.
Another zone is Al-Birwaz, where dining options, retail outlets, and workshops demonstrating traditional handicrafts are featured.
Fatimah Al-Ghamdi is an experienced crafter in Saudi Arabia. With more than 30 years’ experience, she has worked in several countries, including Russia, India and China, teaching people traditional Saudi crafts.
“It starts with the material that you use, regardless if it was from wicker or sadu. The material has to be original. For example, the wicker that is discharged or is dry isn’t the best to use,” Al-Ghamdi told Arab News.
Al-Ghamdi not only mastered crafts but taught her daughters too. Ibtisam is Fatimah’s daughter and a participant at Minzal. She teaches visitors how to make misbaha prayer beads.
“The making of misbaha is a traditional craft for us in Makkah and Madinah for pilgrims. It started there with the stones that were available there such as the red corals they used to get from the Red Sea, or the olive and date seeds,” Ibtisam said.
Along with Fatimah and her daughter Ibtisam, Ahmad Muhammad and Falih Al-Hakbani told Arab News about bishet making, which is traditional men’s wear for special occasions.
“Bishet making is either hand-made or by machine. The one that is done by machine has a double layer, whereas the one hand-made is made of one layer,” Muhammad said. “There are also different types of bishet, such as al-bakhiah, in which the sewing thread and textile both have the same color.”
At Minzal there is also a comfy seating area for socializing with family and friends around an open fire and listening to live music at the Al-Mashb Zone.
At Al-Mashb, people relax and enjoy delicious bites before they move to the next adventure, the stargazing area, where they learn about the galaxy and stars.
Stargazing, storytelling under the dark sky, and a warm cup of Saudi coffee while relaxing at the majlis on traditional Saudi seating promises to create long-lasting memories for people looking for calm away from the bustling city of Riyadh.
Minzal is just one of many programs during the Diriyah season this year that feature the warmth of Saudi hospitality and traditions.
All trails lead to AlUla for top endurance racing this weekend
AlUla contest will have 1,450 runners taking part
SR130,000 prize pot, SR20,000 for 100km winner
Updated 21 January 2025
Arab News
ALULA: The much-anticipated AlUla Trail Race will feature over 1,450 athletes racing on several courses on Jan. 23 and 24.
The contest features six courses for a wide variety of ages including the bucket list 100 km Hegra Hundred Ultra-Marathon, and is almost sold out, according to its website.
This year’s AlUla Trail Race weekend will have a 1.6 km Kids Run and 3 km Sunset Run, while those looking to test their limits will have an opportunity to take on the 10 km AlUla Oasis Run.
This year’s event offers a prize pool of SR136,000, with the winner of the 100 km Hegra Hundred Ultra-Marathon earning SR20,000.
There are also cash prizes for the podium finishers of the 10 km AlUla Oasis Run, 23 km Elephant Rock Run, and 50 km Al-Mejdar Ultra-Marathon.
Located in northwest Saudi Arabia, AlUla’s unique and stunning terrain offers runners the chance to navigate ancient trails once traveled by traders and pilgrims.
The area is surrounded by sprawling desert landscapes, towering rock formations, and verdant green oases.
In addition to the races, the Race Village will have food trucks, specialty coffee, live entertainment, and opportunities to explore AlUla’s remarkable heritage.
Runners will also have access to recovery zones with physiotherapy services for post-race care.
