Cultural center is beacon of change

Ideas of tomorrow meet centuries of tradition in architectural masterpiece

Nowhere in Saudi Arabia is the sheer scale of the kingdom’s stunning transformation into a diversified and knowledge-based economy more evident than in—as well as above— Dhahran, where the iconic King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) reaches high into the sky.

Designed and built in just eight years, the award-winning 90-meter-tall structure is a thriving cultural hub that showcases and celebrates human potential as the greatest source of change, and focuses on accelerating that potential by encouraging creativity, inspiring minds and empowering talent among people of all ages. Inaugurated in 2016 by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ithra was the brainchild of energy titan Saudi Aramco and is the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility initiative. It is the largest cultural contributor to Saudi Arabia.

“Ithra is housed in an 80,000-square-meter landmark physical space with multi-dimensional components that include a library, a four-gallery museum, a cinema, an Idea Lab, a theater, archives, a great hall, a children’s museum, an energy exhibition and the Knowledge Tower workshop space, which is overseen by subject matter experts in a variety of cultural fields,” explains Ithra’s Director Hussain Hanbazazah.

“At its core, Ithra provides the kingdom with global experiences and the world with a unique window to Saudi creativity, culture and capability. With a diverse range of year-round programming appealing to all interests and ages, Ithra’s offerings and initiatives embody five key pillars: art, knowledge, creativity, culture and community.” These important themes fit with many of the G20’s initiatives that strive to involve, engage and empower Saudi young people. As a key youth engagement platform, Ithra regularly provides programming and partnerships designed to enable and inspire the country’s next generation of leaders. To this end, Ithra—in partnership with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s MISK Foundation—will lead the Youth 20 (Y20) engagement under the larger G20 umbrella.“y20 allows for youth-led policy solutions addressing key global challenges to be fed into the overall G20 communique—and this falls under our commitment to empower Saudi youth to partake in such dialogues. In the long term, the Y20 aims to inspire and prepare the next generation of Saudi leaders,” Hanbazazah adds.

“Ithra’s offerings and initiatives embody five key pillars: art, knowledge, creativity, culture and community.”

Hussain Hanbazazah, Director, Ithra