King Khalid University, represented by the Geography Department in the College of Arts and Humanities, in cooperation with the Saudi Geographical Society, is organizing the eleventh seminar for Geography Departments in Saudi universities, under the title "Sustainable Development and Its Future Prospects in Asir Region 2024". The seminar will kick off tomorrow, Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at the university campus in Al-Fara'a and will last for two days.

The Vice President for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at King Khalid University and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Prof. Hamid bin Majdou' Al-Qarni, explained that the seminar is a confirmation of the university and its colleges' role in providing scientific conferences and symposia that enhance distinguished research participation, disseminate modern scientific opinions, and evaluate scientific production and its applications.

The Head of the Geography Department, Dr. Hasan Al-Amri, indicated that sustainability is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030 through protecting the environment, preserving and improving it, and by setting a number of national plans and strategies that achieve the goals of sustainable development. He pointed out that the vision of the seminar is to lead the science of geography and its branches in integration with geographic information systems to support sustainable development plans in the Asir region; which is derived from the vision of the College of Arts and Humanities and the university's vision in enhancing distinguished research participation.

For his part, the Associate Professor of Geographic Information Systems at the university and Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the symposium, Dr. Nasser bin Saeed Al-Zubna Al-Hayani, emphasized the importance of geographic systems in studying the axes of sustainable development and quality of life in the Asir region and obtaining results to support decision-making.

Al-Hayani explained that the seminar targets all members of geography departments in Saudi and Arab universities, geography students and related interdisciplinary specializations, and those interested in the environment and earth sciences. It aims at several goals, most notably; proposing modern trends for development plans in the Asir region to support decision-making, discussing the natural and human opportunities and challenges related to development paths in light of evaluating the geographical components of the sustainable development process in the Asir region, in addition to achieving the relative advantage of geographical and developmental components in the Asir region, and building a modern geographic information base to support the plans of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 in the field of sustainable development and quality of life.

It is worth noting that the seminar is accompanied by a number of events, including an exhibition that reflects the cultural heritage of Asir, in which the Saudi Geographical Society at King Saud University, the Saudi Branch at King Khalid University, and the College of Culture and Arts in Rijal Almaa participate, in addition to a scientific visit to the archaeological site of Jurash.