With the aroma of coffee and the breath of oud, the King Fahd Cultural Center welcomed visitors on the second day of the Cultural Investment Conference. The center’s halls were adorned with a distinguished attendance of thinkers, creatives, officials, and decision-makers, all gathered under one roof to discuss new prospects for the cultural economy and its promising potentials. The dialogue sessions included local and international experiences, highlighting culture’s role as a soft power driving development and opening new paths for investment in arts, heritage, creative industries, and modern technologies.

Throughout the venue, conversations mingled with applause and smiles, while accompanying exhibitions presented a vivid tableau of Saudi cultural diversity, from handicrafts to visual displays, embodying a journey extending from the authenticity of the past to the ambitions of the future. The conference was not just a discussion platform but a window through which Saudi Arabia tells the world that culture is not a luxury but a strategic investment that strengthens national identity and opens doors to the creative economy.

The opening speech, under the slogan “A Global Saudi Footprint – Investing in Culture and Identity,” affirmed that the cultural movement Saudi Arabia is experiencing today is not isolated from the world but a bridge linking authenticity and modernity, establishing a significant Saudi presence in the international cultural scene. Researchers from the Ministry of Culture were present at the center, listening to visitors’ opinions and collecting their feedback on the experience, reflecting the ministry’s keenness to involve society in shaping and developing the cultural scene to meet aspirations.

In the main hall, an exceptional announcement caught attention: the launch of the “Exploring Historic Jeddah via Google Arts & Culture platform” project, a unique digital experience allowing the world to roam the alleys of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed area. This step was described as the first of its kind in the Kingdom, a new window highlighting Saudi Arabia’s historical depth and cultural dimension through modern and contemporary means.

The dialogue sessions were rich with ideas and proposals redefining culture’s role in the global economy. Among them was the “Culture as a Driver” session discussing how culture transforms into a power capable of enhancing competitiveness and inspiring innovation, followed by the “Building Directed Culture” session that placed policies and cultural capital at the heart of development, and the “Cultural Innovation: Fuel for the Future” session which posed bold questions about whether creativity is the next engine for global economic growth.

The discussion extended beyond the main hall, as the “Cultural Studio” opened a broad space for unconventional ideas, such as treating culture as a field for research and development, and showcasing how knowledge can transform into an investment asset generating sustainable economic value. A special session on major Saudi projects demonstrated how culture has become an integral part of the Kingdom’s vision in its mega projects, not only as a tourist attraction but as a soft power reshaping the Kingdom’s global image.

The dialogues varied between cultural infrastructure as a strategic asset, the role of global partnerships in supporting creative economies, as well as rich discussions on cultural festivals as spaces for dialogue and diplomacy, and industrial design as an emerging sector attracting both investors and talents. Each session was a building block added to the ambitious vision, where culture intertwines with identity, and economy with creativity, in a formula Saudi Arabia seeks to make a global model.

The second day of the conference concluded with a session titled “Digital Renaissance: A New Era in Collaborative Creative Work,” reaffirming that the cultural future will not be written within narrow spatial or temporal limits but will be shaped through digital spaces transcending geography, opening unprecedented horizons for cooperation and creativity for Saudi Arabia and the world.