Riyadh: The Culinary Arts Commission convened a virtual meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Saudi UNESCO-endorsed International Food Atlas and Digital Platform for Preserving, Promoting, and Transmitting Foodways to Tomorrow’s Generations. The initiative’s primary goal is to preserve and document cultural heritage to ensure its sustainable transmission across generations.

The meeting commenced with an introduction to the International Food Atlas as a specialized international platform aiming to document traditional food methods in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This involves collecting, preserving, and disseminating both tangible and intangible cultural heritage related to traditional food practices, both locally and internationally. Additionally, the initiative seeks to encourage emerging generations worldwide to acquire culinary skills by involving local communities in documenting culinary heritage. Furthermore, it aims to bolster the local economy by supporting lunch methods, thereby contributing to econom
ic growth, and fostering a deeper understanding of culinary heritage while exploring the connections between different cultures.

Participants also deliberated on the benefits that local communities would derive from joining the International Food Atlas, such as enhancing income resources and implementing specialized approaches in food practices. Furthermore, the meeting addressed the Atlas’s alignment with the 2003 Convention on the Intangible Cultural Heritage, focusing on the five areas of intangible cultural heritage and culinary arts, which serve as the foundation for the Atlas initiative.

Source: Saudi Press Agency