RIYADH: Officials from the Saudi Ministry of Culture have launched the fourth National Cultural Awards, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

Sponsored by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it will cover 16 categories including film, music, fashion, national heritage, literature, theater and performing arts, visual art, architecture and design, culinary arts, publishing, and translation.

Among the awards will be cultural personality of the year, youth culture, international excellence, male and female business achievers, and a cultural institutions gong.

The awards aim to encourage cultural content and production, in addition to supporting winners and granting them an honorary representation of the cultural sector within the Kingdom and internationally.

Members of the public and cultural community can submit nominations via https://www.moc.gov.sa/Modules/Pages/Cultural-Awards. The application period will last for two months, with the stages of screening, evaluation, and judging of nominations ending with the announcement of the winners at the closing ceremony to be held in September.

The National Cultural Awards initiative is part of the Quality of Life Program, one of the Vision 2030 schemes.