Keystone: Saudi Arabia’s First Idea Translation Lab
Within the barren hills of oil-rich Dhahran in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, a unique structure is slowly reaching high into the desert sky.
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture is a multi-purpose complex that aims to foster creativity, inspire innovation, and promote cross-cultural education in the kingdom. The center, a Saudi Aramco initiative, is one of the largest corporate social-responsibility projects in the region and is expected to open in 2014.
Designed in the shape of larger-than-life pebbles
piled up randomly together, the architectural concept behind the
center is meant to be a metaphor for the geological rocks from
which petroleum energy is produced, yet each rock will instead
house an important knowledge or cultural facility- a grand theatre,
world-class library or exhibition hall.
One of these rocks, however, will house a mission that is more
ambitious than the others. The Keystone, named after its location
within the center, is an idea translation lab that aims to inspire
and train young Saudis to develop innovative and creative solutions
for everyday problems.
The Keystone Program
While the physical center is still under
construction, The Keystone is currently running annual
project-based programs, where participants work in collaborative
teams to develop innovative and unique products that are later
showcased at international events and commercialized with the help
of the center.
Young Saudi men and women will be invited to apply for 10-20 spots
in each year’s rigorous daily program, in which they will be
trained on various topics related to launching a business,
including business model creation, logo design, and the art of the
pitch, while learning from experienced speakers such as patent
lawyers and software developers.
For the program’s first main round in 2012, Keystone partnered with
David Edward’s ArtScience Labs, a Harvard-affiliated idea
translation lab, to train teams working under the theme of “Virtual
Worlds.”
Twenty young Saudi men and women were selected and began the
program in August 2012. By November, they had formed four groups,
with projects ranging from a public-speaking practice program
(StandingO) to a virtual game that aims to teach youngsters about
entrepreneurship (LiveIt).
What It Means for Saudi
The significance of the Keystone program within the
Saudi context is not to be underestimated. Within the country’s
borders, an idea-translation program backed by a corporate giant
such as Saudi Aramco is a novel and commendable concept. With more
than 8 million Saudi boys and girls under the age of 14 throughout
the kingdom, almost a third of the total population, the need for
knowledge and training programs cannot be overstated, especially
when traditional alternatives are not adopting new technologies
quickly.
The rising number of young adults that hope to pursue a path of
entrepreneurship and self-determination critically need these
programs to learn how to establish a business successfully; after
all, an idea is worthless without the tools and skills to enact
it.
According to Youngjin Kim, the chief idea-translator in the Keystone program, “Keystone is about catalyzing innovative collaboration and nurturing creative ecosystems, for the growth of the creative economy in the Kingdom.” After viewing creativity and talent in the 2012 class, he adds, “I am confident to say that this program has kick-started the culture of innovation in the Kingdom, and inspired entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Arabia is, demographically, a country of youth, and with such progressive social initiatives as the Keystone program, the future of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country could be truly exhilarating.
For its third iteration in 2013, the Keystone program will focus on a “synthetic biology” theme. For more information visit: http://keystone.kingabdulazizcenter.com/index.html