Among 118 creative cities worldwide, "Creative Al-Ahsa" participated in the 16th annual meeting of member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which was held in Braga, Portugal "July 2024", in the presence of UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Cultural Affairs Ernesto Ottone, and Mayor of Braga Ricardo Rio. During the meeting, "Creative Al-Ahsa" presented its experience in sustaining the preservation of handicrafts and folk arts, and this comes as a continuation of Al-Ahsa's membership in the global network in the creative field of handicrafts and folk arts at the initiative of the Al-Ahsa Municipality. Al-Ahsa Mayor and head of the delegation participating in the meeting, Eng. Essam Al-Mulla, presented a working paper that included Al-Ahsa’s experiences in preserving heritage as the first Gulf city and the third in the Arab world, through many projects and initiatives, such as involving craftsmen and artists in festivals and events, which focused on a large part of allocating multiple sites for handicrafts and providing them with the opportunity to support and assist, and activating various types of folk arts, with the aim of drawing the attention of society in all its segments by focusing on the importance of culture and creativity in shaping the cities of the future and their role in sustainable urban development. He also presented the results of the projects implemented by the Secretariat in serving the craftsmen sector and preserving the heritage of folk arts, such as the Wednesday Popular Market, the Craftsmen Market, and the creative Al-Ahsa Castle. During his participation in the dialogue session he delivered before representatives of creative cities from 62 countries, Eng. Al-Mulla stressed that the Al-Ahsa Municipality seeks to deepen its societal role in providing services by raising growth rates and sustaining handicrafts and folk arts for craftsmen, in light of what Al-Ahsa possesses of creative components that make it among its counterparts in the world, which came as a result of effective participation from the public and private sectors in cultural activities, in line with the goals of the UNESCO Creative Network. He also stressed the role of creativity and culture in implementing Goal 11 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to (make cities more humane, inclusive, safe and sustainable). While the Director of International Organizations in the Al-Ahsa Municipality, Assistant Coordinator of Traditional Arts and Crafts in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shabith, explained that handicrafts in Al-Ahsa are creative industries among the means used to achieve economic, social and environmental development in the region, stressing that the global meeting was to exchange experiences and communicate directly with the leaders of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, in order to discuss and innovate the cities of the future, as the network provides a unique platform to support and enhance the work carried out by member cities at the local and international levels, in order to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan. It is noteworthy that the Saudi delegation participating in the meeting included members of the Al-Ahsa Municipality, "Director of the International Organizations Department in the Municipality, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shabith, and the Director of Media of the Municipality, Khaled Boushal, as well as members of the National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, members of the Culinary Authority, and the Literature Authority. A delegation from Buraidah, which is creative in the field of cooking, also participated in attending the meeting.