On 6 July 2026, CARMA brought together senior communications, public affairs, media and reputation leaders in Riyadh for the Reputation by CARMA Workshop, an invitation-only discussion built around the findings of the 6th Annual Kingdom Reputation Report.
Hosted at The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, the workshop moved beyond a traditional report launch. It became a focused, senior-level conversation about how Saudi Arabia is being seen, discussed and understood globally at a time when the Kingdom’s visibility has never been higher.
The audience reflected the importance of that conversation. Senior professionals from government entities, private sector organisations and communications teams across the Kingdom joined the session, bringing with them different perspectives on reputation, media, policy, culture, technology and national storytelling. The strength of the evening was not only in the findings presented, but in the quality of the discussion they opened.
The report examines what the world said about Saudi Arabia across 2025 and H1 2026, drawing on media, public opinion, rankings, economic data and responses from Large Language Models (LLMs). The question was direct: what is the world saying about the Kingdom, and what does that mean for its reputation?
Mazen Nahawi, Founder and CEO of CARMA, opened the evening by presenting the key findings and setting the foundation for a wider discussion on visibility, resilience and national reputation today.
The data showed a reputation shaped by ambition and pressure. Saudi Arabia’s visibility rose sharply in the first half of 2026, driven by economic developments, regional geopolitical turbulence and the PIF strategy announcement. Yet visibility alone does not tell the full story.
One of the strongest findings was the gap between media coverage and public sentiment. While global headlines often focused on conflict, energy security and regional risk, public opinion toward the Kingdom remained resilient. Willingness to visit, work, relocate or do business in Saudi Arabia declined only marginally despite a turbulent regional backdrop. Reputation is not formed by headlines alone. It is shaped by news, experience, economic confidence, digital discovery and trusted stories.
That thread shaped the panel discussion, moderated by Sean Trainor, with Tala Alam from Google, Noor Nugali from Arab News, Hessa Al-Masoud from the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Osamah Alqusayer from Salient and Mazen Nahawi. Rather than treating the report as a set of findings to be reviewed, the panel used it as a starting point to examine the forces now shaping the Kingdom’s reputation in real time: how international media interprets moments of pressure, how economic recalibration is understood globally, how AI is changing first impressions, and how culture and lived experience continue to give reputation its depth.
Noor Nugali brought the newsroom lens into the discussion. The conversation made an important distinction: the Kingdom was not viewed only through risk. In many cases, it was positioned around stability, energy security, economic discipline and regional diplomacy.
Osamah Alqusayer looked at how the Kingdom’s soft power is becoming broader and more durable. Sports and entertainment remain important, but they now sit alongside diplomacy, AI, logistics, defence, culture and major economic platforms. Events such as LEAP, FII and the World Defense Show help shape how the Kingdom participates in global conversations.
The PIF strategy update and recalibration were especially important. Rather than framing recalibration as retreat, the conversation positioned it as a sign of disciplined delivery. A mature reputation is not built by avoiding hard questions. It is built by answering them clearly, with proof points and context.
Tala Alam took the discussion into the digital space, where reputation is increasingly shaped by search and AI. People are asking more complex questions about what it is like to visit, invest, work or live in a country. That shift creates responsibility for institutions to ensure public information is accurate, accessible and connected.
Hessa Al-Masoud brought culture into the centre of the reputation conversation. Personal experience and word of mouth are among the strongest influences on how people form opinions about a country. Through cultural institutions, biennales, JAX District, artists, curators and international partnerships, culture becomes one of the most authentic ways to experience Saudi Arabia beyond headlines, search results or campaign messaging.
As Saudi Arabia looks toward Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the world will be watching how the Kingdom delivers, how visitors experience it and how those visitors describe it afterward.
Across the evening, one idea kept coming through: Saudi Arabia’s reputation is moving from a story of ambition to a story of execution. Visibility is only the beginning. What matters now is how that visibility is supported by credible delivery, accessible information, strong institutions, cultural depth and consistent communication.
Register here to get early access to the report.
Commentary, Eventos
Reputation by CARMA Workshop
A Riyadh Conversation on How the World Sees Saudi Arabia
On 6 July 2026, CARMA brought together senior communications, public affairs, media and reputation leaders in Riyadh for the Reputation by CARMA Workshop, an invitation-only discussion built around the findings of the 6th Annual Kingdom Reputation Report.
Hosted at The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, the workshop moved beyond a traditional report launch. It became a focused, senior-level conversation about how Saudi Arabia is being seen, discussed and understood globally at a time when the Kingdom’s visibility has never been higher.
The audience reflected the importance of that conversation. Senior professionals from government entities, private sector organisations and communications teams across the Kingdom joined the session, bringing with them different perspectives on reputation, media, policy, culture, technology and national storytelling. The strength of the evening was not only in the findings presented, but in the quality of the discussion they opened.
The report examines what the world said about Saudi Arabia across 2025 and H1 2026, drawing on media, public opinion, rankings, economic data and responses from Large Language Models (LLMs). The question was direct: what is the world saying about the Kingdom, and what does that mean for its reputation?
Mazen Nahawi, Founder and CEO of CARMA, opened the evening by presenting the key findings and setting the foundation for a wider discussion on visibility, resilience and national reputation today.
The data showed a reputation shaped by ambition and pressure. Saudi Arabia’s visibility rose sharply in the first half of 2026, driven by economic developments, regional geopolitical turbulence and the PIF strategy announcement. Yet visibility alone does not tell the full story.
One of the strongest findings was the gap between media coverage and public sentiment. While global headlines often focused on conflict, energy security and regional risk, public opinion toward the Kingdom remained resilient. Willingness to visit, work, relocate or do business in Saudi Arabia declined only marginally despite a turbulent regional backdrop. Reputation is not formed by headlines alone. It is shaped by news, experience, economic confidence, digital discovery and trusted stories.
That thread shaped the panel discussion, moderated by Sean Trainor, with Tala Alam from Google, Noor Nugali from Arab News, Hessa Al-Masoud from the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Osamah Alqusayer from Salient and Mazen Nahawi. Rather than treating the report as a set of findings to be reviewed, the panel used it as a starting point to examine the forces now shaping the Kingdom’s reputation in real time: how international media interprets moments of pressure, how economic recalibration is understood globally, how AI is changing first impressions, and how culture and lived experience continue to give reputation its depth.
Noor Nugali brought the newsroom lens into the discussion. The conversation made an important distinction: the Kingdom was not viewed only through risk. In many cases, it was positioned around stability, energy security, economic discipline and regional diplomacy.
Osamah Alqusayer looked at how the Kingdom’s soft power is becoming broader and more durable. Sports and entertainment remain important, but they now sit alongside diplomacy, AI, logistics, defence, culture and major economic platforms. Events such as LEAP, FII and the World Defense Show help shape how the Kingdom participates in global conversations.
The PIF strategy update and recalibration were especially important. Rather than framing recalibration as retreat, the conversation positioned it as a sign of disciplined delivery. A mature reputation is not built by avoiding hard questions. It is built by answering them clearly, with proof points and context.
Tala Alam took the discussion into the digital space, where reputation is increasingly shaped by search and AI. People are asking more complex questions about what it is like to visit, invest, work or live in a country. That shift creates responsibility for institutions to ensure public information is accurate, accessible and connected.
Hessa Al-Masoud brought culture into the centre of the reputation conversation. Personal experience and word of mouth are among the strongest influences on how people form opinions about a country. Through cultural institutions, biennales, JAX District, artists, curators and international partnerships, culture becomes one of the most authentic ways to experience Saudi Arabia beyond headlines, search results or campaign messaging.
As Saudi Arabia looks toward Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the world will be watching how the Kingdom delivers, how visitors experience it and how those visitors describe it afterward.
Across the evening, one idea kept coming through: Saudi Arabia’s reputation is moving from a story of ambition to a story of execution. Visibility is only the beginning. What matters now is how that visibility is supported by credible delivery, accessible information, strong institutions, cultural depth and consistent communication.
Register here to get early access to the report.
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