Just when we thought that Saudi Vision 2030‘s giga-projects couldn’t get any more ground-breaking, HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announced that Saudi Arabia will host the world’s first non-profit city. The planned city will be around 3.4 square kilometres and will be located in the Irqah neighborhood of Riyadh.
The city will be a hub for the global non-profit sector and serve as an incubator for youth and volunteer groups as well as local and international non-profit organisations. Not only is it is designed to be sustainable, but more than 44 percent of the total area will be dedicated to green open spaces and be allocated to promote sustainable development.
HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman says, “This will be the first non-profit city of its kind which will contribute to achieving the goals of Mohammed bin Salman Misk Foundation in supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and qualifying future leaders by defining non-profit work in its internal operational concept and in terms of opportunities and youth training programs it will provide. In addition, the project will provide services that contribute to creating an attractive environment for all beneficiaries of the city’s offerings.”
HRH added: “Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Non-Profit City, which implements the digital twin model, will host academies, colleges, Misk Schools, a conference centre, a science museum, a creative centre offering a space to support the ambitions of innovators in sciences and new generation technology such as AI, IOT and Robotics.”
Misk Foundation, which operates a school in Riyadh, was established by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in 2011, as a non-profit organisation devoted to cultivating and encouraging learning and leadership in youth in Saudi Arabia. The foundation invests in empowering the youth of Saudi Arabia through three main pillars: education and entrepreneurship, culture and creative arts, and science and technology as a supporting field.
As for the cultural offerings, we are particularly excited that it will feature an art gallery, theatre and cooking academy. So there’ll be plenty of things to do, covering art, entertainment and family fun, at Saudi Arabia’s new non-profit city.
