Royal Commission for AlUla signs new partnership with Petra National Trust

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) signed for a collaborative new partnership with the Petra National Trust (PNT), a leading regional non-governmental and non-profit organization in Jordan dedicated to the preservation of cultural and natural heritage.

Through the partnership, both parties seek to build a platform fostering greater understanding and appreciation of cultural heritage within and beyond the region.

Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas, president of PNT and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, said: “We are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Commission for AlUla, marking a significant collaboration between Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the realm of cultural heritage preservation. Through this partnership and our ongoing efforts, we continue to advocate for cultural heritage as a cornerstone of sustainable development and community engagement, focusing on youth education and women’s empowerment.”

For her part RCU acting CEO Abeer AlAkel remarked that AlUla and Petra share a close and deep-lying connection that stretches back through millennia to the ancient kingdom of the Nabataeans whom she referred to as a remarkable people who were able to harness their environment and create incredible tombs and monuments to their achievements that exist to this day. 

AlAkel said: “This latest collaborative agreement will strengthen our ongoing commitments to knowledge sharing and application of best practices in heritage education, serving an ambitious goal to reach our 14,000 school children in AlUla to build a deeper understanding and appreciation for history and cultural heritage.”

A milestone in heritage conservation

Considered a milestone in regional and global efforts to encourage the appreciation and preservation of vital artefacts, the partnership celebrates the rich and distinct heritage found in sites across Hegra, and Petra, as centres of the Nabataean civilisation.

As the custodian of AlUla’s cultural landscape and heritage, RCU will work closely with experts from PNT on the transfer of knowledge and skills across critical areas including informal learning techniques, the interpretation of cultural heritage and storytelling across key historical sites, and making history accessible and engaging within their respective communities and youth populations.

At the same time, RCU and PNT will collaborate in specialised sectors including innovative educational initiatives to help deepen people’s connection with heritage, empowering communities, especially children, to be active participants in discovering and safeguarding AlUla’s rich heritage sites, with an aim to inspire continued conservation efforts and future career choices.

Building on the launch of the partnership, teams from PNT will visit AlUla later this year for a series of workshops and tours, while colleagues from RCU will travel to the Jordanian capital Amman for complementary sessions to exchange ideas, explore new opportunities, and focus on future strategies.