{"id":2060629,"date":"2026-06-13T11:27:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/2026\/06\/13\/the-rawis-of-alula-in-paris-when-oasis-storytellers-meet-ai\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T11:29:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:29:48","slug":"the-rawis-of-alula-in-paris-when-oasis-storytellers-meet-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/2026\/06\/13\/the-rawis-of-alula-in-paris-when-oasis-storytellers-meet-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rawis of AlUla in Paris: When Oasis Storytellers Meet AI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is something deliberate about UNESCO\u2019s choice to display the faces of the Rawis of AlUla on its grilles this summer. The international heritage institution on Place de Fontenoy is not a museum. It is a stone-carved treaty\u2014a collective commitment that certain memories deserve to be preserved. Exhibiting photographic portraits of Arab storytellers there, from June 10 to August 31, 2026, is a statement that oral tradition is a heritage in its own right, just like the Nabatean tombs or rock inscriptions. <\/p>\n\n

The Rawis\u2014a term meaning \u201cstoryteller\u201d in Arabic\u2014are the cultural ambassadors of AlUla, a region in northwestern Saudi Arabia with a history dating back more than 200,000 years of human presence. Trained by the Royal Commission for AlUla, they guide visitors through the sites of Hegra\u2014Saudi Arabia\u2019s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and a 52-hectare ancient Nabataean city\u2014as well as Dadan, Jabal Ikmah, and the old city of AlUla. What they do is not mere tour guiding: it is an archaeology of the senses, a way of bringing millennia to life. <\/p>\n\n

The exhibition \u201cI am a Rawi: Sharing Stories from AlUla\u201d does more than just show faces. It documents an approach: \u201cQissa bi Qissa,\u201d or \u201ca story for a story.\u201d For two hours, participants and Rawis engage in discussions around objects and stories related to migration, beliefs, and shared cultural experiences. Launched in February 2026 in AlUla, the initiative has already brought together 115 participants from ten countries. <\/p>\n\n

What the press release doesn\u2019t say outright, but what the context makes crystal clear: this exhibition is coming to Paris at the very moment when the question of what artificial intelligence can do\u2014or undo\u2014for cultural transmission is being asked in every newsroom, every museum, and every school. In contrast to algorithmic mediations that personalize the experience without a body or a gaze, AlUla offers the exact opposite. Two hours. Objects. True stories. People looking at one another. <\/p>\n\n

Phillip Jones, Chief Tourism Officer of the Royal Commission for AlUla, cites a study indicating that 79% of travelers today seek immersive cultural experiences. The figure speaks for itself, but Jones\u2019s wording speaks even louder: \u201cAt a time when many experiences are shaped by artificial intelligence, the Live Museum model offers an alternative based on authentic encounters. “The ‘Live Museum’ is UNESCO\u2019s approach that places people at the heart of heritage interpretation. AlUla\u2019s Rawis are now the first certified practitioners of this approach in Saudi Arabia.” <\/p>\n\n

In 2025, six of them participated in UNESCO\u2019s first Intercultural Training Week in Paris, alongside representatives from six global cultural institutions. They returned as trainers, contributing to an online training program for Live Museum facilitators. This cycle\u2014being trained, becoming a trainer, and passing on the knowledge in turn\u2014is precisely what the Rawis have been doing for generations in the oasis, even before a royal commission defined its parameters. <\/p>\n\n

The exhibition is free and on display on the exterior railings of UNESCO headquarters, 7 Place de Fontenoy, Paris 7th arrondissement. It runs through August 31, 2026. AlUla is accessible from Paris via Riyadh or by direct flight from certain European cities. The future Incense Route Museum, whose vision is foreshadowed by the Rawis program, does not yet have an announced opening date. <\/p>\n\n

To learn more about AlUla, visit<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>www.experiencealula.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n

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There is something deliberate about UNESCO\u2019s choice to display the faces of the Rawis of AlUla on its grilles this summer. The international heritage institution on Place de Fontenoy is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2060600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30763],"tags":[77566],"class_list":["post-2060629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-alula-in-paris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2060629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2060629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2060629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2060600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2060629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2060629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2060629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}