The third edition of the Colors of Saudi Arabia Forum will kick off here on Sunday at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center (RICEC) under the patronage of Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).

“All preparations to hold the third edition of the Colors of Saudi Arabia Forum 2014 have been completed,” an SCTA spokesperson said on Friday.

He said that Prince Sultan will also hand over trophies to the winners of the photography competition which will be held on the sidelines of the forum at RICEC.

Started in 2012, the annual forum includes a national exhibition for photography, in addition to an award ceremony to honor the winners of the Prince Sultan bin Salman award for photography and the winners of the Saudi colors competition for photography and for short films, besides conducting several workshops and training courses on the themes of the forum.

The forum is organized by the SCTA in collaboration with its partners to encourage and honor both professional and amateur photographers in an attempt to shed light on the Kingdom’s tourism, heritage and natural sites, rich and diverse society and urban progress.

Aiming to attract citizens and expatriates alike to further promote domestic tourism, the week-long forum will continue until Dec. 20.

Apart from photography clubs and groups, artistic production companies and individual photographers will participate with photo galleries on the Kingdom, besides featuring other activities under four themes, covering tourism experience, urban heritage and antiquities, popular heritage and nature.

Notably, a special pavilion has been set aside this time for international participants including photographers, diplomats, embassies of friendly countries, who will participate with photos on the Kingdom.

The forum will be attended by a number of experts and specialists from the United States, Great Britain and France, along with Saudi and regional experts.

SCTA pays much attention to the coincidence of this event with the start of the King Abdullah Heritage Initiative, which aims to achieve maximum awareness on the preservation of the components of the national heritage of the Kingdom, making it an integral part of people’s memories and daily life.

Moreover, the forum will publish a special book of photos that will make it to the final stages of the competition and each photographer participating in the competition will be given a complimentary copy of the book while visitors to the forum will be able to have access to the rest of the photos.