Saudi Arabia Includes Over 80 Cultural Occupations in the Unified Saudi Occupational Classification

Riyadh, Jun 17, 2020, SPA -- Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture, has announced the remarkable news to all Saudi intellectuals and artists on the occasion of the Cabinet’s approval to include more than 80 cultural occupations within the Unified Saudi Occupational Classification, in a step considered as the first in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which will give activists in cultural industry a corporate status in the society and governmental and private institutions. This inclusion came at the request of the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Human Resources, based on unified efforts and joint work between government agencies, where a list that includes many cultural occupations that were not previously recognized was submitted, and these occupations were added after studying the reality of the Saudi cultural industry, and based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08). More than 80 cultural occupations were approved in the first stage which includes artistic and cultural occupations and have a presence in the cultural field such as theater producer, film director, lighting designer, documents and manuscripts restoration specialist, exhibitions designer, textile designer, curator and other basic cultural occupations in which Saudi creators are active. The Ministry of Culture was keen that these occupations include all cultural sectors, as they were divided into the following sectors: heritage, language, books and publishing, libraries, fashion, theater and performing arts, culinary arts, films, museums, visual arts, festivals and cultural events, architecture and design as well as occupations in educational development paths for the cultural sector and multimedia design. The inclusion of cultural occupations in the Unified Saudi Occupational Classification will help to give Saudi intellectuals with various creative specializations an official recognition of state agencies and private sector institutions, with the related increase in the artist's competence in cultural production and self-employment. It is also a first step in the direction of professional licensing, in addition to the moral value it gives to the artist in the society under a clear and recognized professional title. The Ministry of Culture's keenness and its endeavor to include cultural occupations emanate from its belief in the value of Saudi creatives and the need to obtain the value that they deserve professionally and socially. Furthermore, this is considered as an essential step to convert Saudi creatives from the level of a hobby to the level of true professionalism, which is a major requirement for the project of the Saudi cultural sector advancement, which the Ministry manages and seeks to develop Saudi culture and make it an influential, productive and effective industry socially, economically, and culturally, at a level that meets the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. This is the first time in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that Saudi artists obtain an official occupation, which will accelerate the pace of the cultural production and will increase the opportunities for workers in the cultural sector to devote themselves to their creative activity. --SPA