By the kind invitation of His Highness Mr. Dhi Yazan bin Haitham Al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Youth, and the General Supervisor of the Cultural Club, to his brother His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal, to deliver a lecture last Thursday under the patronage of the Omani Minister of Information, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Al Harasi, at the Conference Hall of Sultan Qaboos University. The lecture titled: "The Arab Reality in Light of International Developments and Interactions and Their Implications on the Region: A Future Vision." The lecture was attended by those interested in hearing Prince Hassan bin Talal the intellectual more than the politician, especially as he is associated with a cultural project. He founded the Human Forum in 1982, which was later known as the Arab Youth Forum, as well as the Arab Thought Forum in 1981 and the Royal Institute for Religious Studies in 1994. He is also among the founders and active participants in Al al-Bayt University in Jordan, in addition to his writings on Jerusalem, Palestine, Islam, and Christianity, as well as his works on peace, humanity, and religious minorities. It was hoped that the cultural scene would dominate the lecture, and the lecturer would delve into the thoughts of the man, and the cultural visions he left behind, except that the post-lecture discussion focused on political issues, most of which were widely discussed, because the general image of Prince Hassan bin Talal was more of a political figure in the collective mind than a cultural one. Nevertheless, the man - as previously mentioned - has cultural visions that could have been explored, especially regarding the philosophy of man, peace, and religious minorities. However, the lecture provided a deep cultural dimension in its horizontal aspect. His Highness brought together revival and humanity, and this was the focus of the lecture. When speaking about the Arab reality, he was concerned with the Arab individual, and the Arab individual does not mean only the Arab in terms of ethnicity, nor does it mean only the Muslim in terms of religion. He clarified that we have four important races: Arabs, Turks, Persians, and Kurds, and the purpose of this for the Prince is to be influential in the current reality on one hand, and on the other hand, to focus on the importance of "North Africa and the Mediterranean for what they possess of a significant human and natural wealth that must be cared for, from Morocco to central Turkey." This region contains a significant plurality of these four races. This is from the aspect of influence, not from the aspect of linguistic plurality. Otherwise, in the region, there is a linguistic plurality like no other in the world, whether ancient languages ​​like Hebrew, Shihri, Amazigh, Aramaic, Syriac, or immigrant languages ​​like Hindi, Urdu, Balochi, Swahili, and others. As for religion, His Highness pointed out that the Levant - for example - "includes a religious plurality represented in Muslims, Christians, and Jews".These individuals have indeed been influential in the civilizational and cultural scene since ancient times, scientifically, religiously, and literarily. The Levant also includes cultural influencers such as the Druze and Maronites. However, Jordan still retains the Arab Orthodox Church, which needs to be preserved and attended to uniquely, as the appearance of the Coptic, Armenian, or Syriac Orthodox Churches is more prevalent than that of the Arab Orthodox or Ethiopian Churches. On the other hand, if we broaden our scope to the Arab world, we find a broader plurality, such as the Mandaean, Yazidi, Kakai, and others. I have pointed this out on various occasions and in my book on acquaintances. His Highness sees this region as containing natural and cultural diversity, as it boasts the largest ports on Earth. Unfortunately, we "quarrel over terms like the Arabian or Persian Gulf, just as we quarrel over the Gulf of Aqaba or the Gulf of Aden, while the world is setting other global lines, as in China, completely surpassing us." Despite the wealth hidden beneath the surface and visible in the region, it suffers from "deprivation represented by poverty and need, water and energy problems." "Our region suffers from the abundance of the homeless, migrants, and victims of disasters and wars, with casualties exceeding fifty thousand." Deprivation, along with the social and security problems it carries, leads to the loss of human talents and creations. Therefore, His Highness believes that we cannot separate between infrastructure and human beings, "for infrastructure and human beings are interdependent. Just as we care for infrastructure, we must care for human beings." Therefore, both the Arab world and the world at large need "an index of knowledge to deal with deprivation, in order to gain the trust of the new generation." "We need to revive the Arab world economically, and we need to focus on Zakat and invest it. We also need to consider the return of the railway from the Levant to the Hejaz, as well as reviving economic exchange trips between the Gulf and the Levant," and in the Arab world as a whole. This, as previously mentioned, stems from the interdependence of revival and humanity. Therefore, we must act in the language of revival, not in the language of ego, war, destruction, and ruin. We must also think and act according to human values. "Renaissance has no value without being linked to human dignity." "We must live the culture of revival and humanity." From what I understood from the lecture, His Highness refers to the trinity that we have not dealt with properly: "place, identity, and migration." Regarding place, "we have in our region plenty of resources that can feed everyone," but "instability in any part of the region threatens the region as a whole." Therefore, just as we need to overcome the issue of ego related to the Qatari state, we must realize that we are one Arab nation, and stability in any part means stability for all. Therefore, we also need - as he sees it - to deal with everyone moderately. "Moderation lies in religion and thought on one hand, and in dealing with the parties on the other hand," and he sees Oman and Jordan as models of moderate dealing with the parties. We must also move beyond the language of war and trust in others, not in ourselves. There is "a law for war, but there is no law for peace." "Have we thought about the consequences of post-war, how to deal with them in terms of human rights?" For example, "there is no right for the Palestinians after the mandate; there are rights for the Jewish and Palestinian states only." As for trusting others rather than ourselves, it is reflected in our absolute trust in the Security Council. He believes that "the United Nations Security Council should be called the International Disturbance Council." Therefore, "the world resorts to the decisions of the United Nations, but where are those decisions that vindicate us when implemented?" Therefore, our reality is summarized as "the world revolves around us, but we do not necessarily revolve around the world." As for identity, he focuses on the aspect of cultural plurality, and I have mentioned religious and linguistic plurality. He believes that we are "living today in a stage of cultural interdependence, i.e., cultural dialogue," or what is known as dialogue of civilizations. Regardless of the controversy over whether civilizations dialogue or cultures do so according to the values of civilization, he believes that we "need a parliament of cultures," where we can benefit from our cultural diversity, even at the global level. This parliament is based on "wisdom and avoiding personalization." The issue of migration remained, linked to youth, where he sees hope in the diaspora Arabs. The hope is "in the youth who are abroad or think with the mind of the abroad." My analysis of this is that the fault lies in freedom and the way of thinking. The narrow space of freedom in the Arab world and the expansion of tyranny lead to the absence of talents, potentials, and creations. This tyranny, for political, religious, or social reasons, contributed to the migration of Arab minds. Therefore, "the West cares about the best [even from our sons], and we do not care about that." Despite this, hope remains in them. As for the fault in the way of thinking, it may be due - in my opinion - to the obstacles that hinder expressing what is inside, and it is difficult to disclose it for various reasons. This does not mean that those inside do not possess properties as those outside do, but they need to think with the mind of the outside in terms of openness and the ability to think. They also need a safe space for their opinions, thoughts, and creativity. Note: What I mentioned above is a personal reading of the lecture of His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal, as I understand it from the outside as a culture lover in light of the repercussions of reality. It is not a literal translation of the lecture. What I have mentioned between quotation marks in the article is a documentation of the prince's words, not necessarily verbatim.