JEDDAH: The iconic Souk Okaz event would be expanded further to reflect the cultural renaissance taking place in the country, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said recently.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the winners of the ninth annual event, he also thanked various organizations and individuals for organizing the gathering, including Taif’s municipality, secretariat, and the university’s rector Abdul Elah Banajah.

“We hope that Souk Okaz will be a window into the civilization and culture of Saudis and other Arabs,” said Prince Khaled. “We do not want to restrict its activities to heritage, but have it become a cultural, scientific and intellectual phenomenon. Poetry will not be the only permanent feature of Souk Okaz.”

Prince Khaled outlined the development of the event over the past nine years. “It started with only one award, for the top poet. But today the event is considered an incubator for innovators in various cultural fields, including poetry, photography, fine arts, calligraphy, crafts and folklore with eight awards worth up to SR1.5 million.”

He said Souk Okaz introduced more than 280 innovators, 70 winners annually, in the field of crafts under the sponsorship of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage. A total of SR8 million was paid out to winners over the years, he said.

Prince Khaled said the program included a series of lectures, symposia, and literary evenings with top intellectuals, writers, thinkers and poets from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world. More than 205 intellectuals participated in the event over the years, he said.

He said there would be several new developments over the next five years, which would be overseen by a special action team. “The team has already started holding workshops in Taif with the heads of literary clubs. The workshops have so far resulted in a competition for young talented classical poets,” he said.

Prince Khaled said there has also been an academy set up to develop classical Arab poetry. “We will tap into Arab and international experience in establishing such academies. The best known poetry academies are in the United States, Austria, Egypt and Abu Dhabi.”

According to reports, the winners of this year’s awards include Huzair Mahmoud, who took home the Souk Okaz Poet prize. He was chosen from among 26 local and international poets and won SR300,000.

Hassan Tawashi was chosen as the Okaz Young Poet and won SR100,000. In painting, Nasser Al-Dubaihi won the first prize of SR50,000 from among 110 contestants.

Ziyad Abdullah and Hassan Al-Otaibi won the Arabic calligraphy and photography awards, and take home SR50,000 each.