Riyadh, December 05: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will be awarded the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI) Prize to mark his services to promote cultural and library activities in the Arab world on Dec. 10, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
“AFLI awards the prize in appreciation of King Abdullah’s efforts to promote cultural, intellectual, educational and urban development besides his initiative to organize cultural dialogues and the promotion of moderation and tolerance in Muslim societies,” General Supervisor of the King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) Faisal Bin Abdul Rahman Muammar told in a statement to Saudi Press Agency.
“Human and social development is the central point of all policies and projects the king has been putting forward,” Bin Muammar said in his statement.
Bin Muammar commended king’s investment in human potential. “With his foresight, the king has realized that knowledge is the basis of all human progress. It is none but thinkers and scientists that provide people their identity,” he added.
King Abdullah established King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) in Riyadh in 1985 and King Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation for Islamic Studies and Humanities in Casablanca.
“With the goal of promoting moderation and tolerance in Muslim societies the king instituted Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah International Prize for Translation, the Project of King Abdulaziz Office for Cultural Dialogue in addition to several other short and long term cultural projects such as Unified Arab Index, National Project for Revival of Book Reading, Encyclopedia of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Children’s Book Club,” he said.
King also ordered the opening of a KAPL branch in Beijing University, which is expected to serve as a bridge between Arab and Chinese cultures.
While striving to encourage ideas and books, the king provides knowledge resources for students and lovers of knowledge on the one side and on the other spreading the culture of dialogue and mutual knowledge, he said.
The prize will be awarded in a conference of the federation organized in collaboration with the Moroccan Cultural Ministry and King Abdulaziz Foundation for Islamic Studies and Humanities in Casablanca.
—Agencies