Minister of Culture Shaikha May bint Mohammed Al Khalifa participated in the "Forum of Saudi intellectuals" held today in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The forum is the first step in a series of forums and seminars intended for the activation and enrichment of cultural exchange through public participation from prominent intellectuals, diplomats, and persons interested in the Saudi cultural scene, and the Arab culture in general. The Ministry of Culture has actively participated during the forum with a Bahraini pavilion promoting its program "Manama... the Capital of Arab Culture 2012", that will be launched in January 2012 and continues for a year. The minister affirmed that this event will open doors wide for cultural exchanges, and many opportunities for intellectual interactions. The pavilion attracted large numbers of visitors and intellectuals and this confirmed that the program is enriching and unique. The minister presented a worksheet project in investing in culture and talked about her experience in this project that started with Shaikh Ibrahim Center for culture and studies in 2002, and then launched it as a personal initiative in the government sector in order to build partnership between the private and public sector. The minister also praised the great successes of the Kingdom on the cultural scene through this project with the renovation of many old traditional Bahraini houses that were in danger of disappearing along with the traditional handicrafts.