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Authors, scholars and institutions from Arab world and beyond honoured as Abu Dhabi prize celebrates two decades of cultural influence.
The 2026 winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award were announced on Friday, marking two decades of one of the Arab world’s most influential literary prizes.
Established in 2006 and held under the patronage of President Sheikh Mohamed, the award has grown into a fixture on the region’s cultural calendar, drawing submissions from across the world and supporting the global reach of Arabic literature.
This year’s winners reflect that international scope, with recipients from countries including Egypt, Morocco, Germany and the UAE.
Egyptian writer Ashraf Elashmawy took the Literature prize for his novel Births in the Zoo, a work that explores shifts in Egyptian society through closely observed, character-driven storytelling. Moroccan researcher Mustapha Rajouane won in the Young Author category for a study examining how rhetoric shapes narrative in the modern Arabic novel.
In Translation, Iraqi-American scholar Nawal Nasrallah has been recognised for her English edition of a 13th-century Arabic culinary text, bringing a complex historical manuscript to a wider readership. Jordanian academic Zuhair Tawfiq received the Literary and Art Criticism award for his study of how Arab and western cultures have historically imagined one another.
German writer and translator Stefan Weidner won in the Arab Culture in Other Languages category for a major anthology of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, while the Emirates Literature Foundation was honoured for its role in developing the UAE’s literary scene and supporting readers and writers.
The Encyclopaedias and Lexicons category went to Egyptian academic Mohamed Elkhosht for his six-volume Encyclopaedia of World Religions, and veteran Egyptian singer Nagat Al Saghira was named Cultural Personality of the Year, recognising a career that has helped shape modern Arabic song and language.
More than 4,000 submissions were received from 74 countries, underlining the award’s growing international profile. Since its launch, it has attracted more than 33,000 entries and honoured 136 winners, including writers, translators and cultural institutions.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak , chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said the award continues to build on the UAE’s long-standing investment in culture and knowledge, while Ali bin Tamim, secretary general of the award, described it as a platform that has helped shape contemporary Arabic literary and research landscapes.
A programme of events is planned throughout the year to mark the award’s 20th anniversary. Winners will be honoured at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, with Al Saghira receiving Dh1 million for being Cultural Personality of the Year, and other category winners awarded Dh750,000 each.
Seven days after the legendary Iraqi singer Sajida Obaid died, women sat wrapped in black veils and abayas, their faces wet at her family home in the northern city of Irbil. Some were family members and others were fans who had loved her for decades.
Bitter black coffee, the drink of Iraqi mourning, passed quietly from hand to hand. The music drifting in from outside filled the spaces between sobs.
Outside, men sat under a canvas tent in the street. A traditional band beat the daf as some of the men wiped their eyes. In Iraq, the seventh day marks a return, a final gathering before grief begins to thin into memory.
Obaid died on April 4 at the age of 68 after a battle with lung cancer. The news was overshadowed by the Iran war that had spilled over into neighboring Iraq. But for her fans, her death felt personal — the loss of a woman whose voice had given them, for a few hours at a time, something close to freedom.
A space for women to let loose
In Iraq, a woman moving through public life carries weight with her; eyes watching what she wears, how she moves, whether she is stepping too far outside the lines. So Obaid decided to hold parties only for women. Every staff member including the DJ, the waiters, the security, and the organizers was a woman. No phones were allowed to prevent photography. To protect the women in the room, their freedom stayed inside those walls.
Women who would never dream of dancing in front of male audience came. They dressed how they wanted and danced the way they had forgotten they could.
Virgin Jaji, 68, was one of them. While the Arab world traditionally begins its mornings with the dreamy songs of the Lebanese singer Fayrouz, Jaji said she has listened to Obaid every morning for years, in the car, at home, even at the gym. “Even my parrot only dances to Sajida Obaid’s music.
“In her women’s parties we danced like we had no cares in the world,” Jaji said, her eyes red from crying. “We felt free. Truly free.”
Mina Mohammed, 40, said, “The first time I heard about a women-only party by Sajida, I borrowed money from friends just to be in that hall. Her voice will always take me back to the best moments of my life.”
A quick rise to stardom
Obaid was born in Baghdad in 1957, the daughter of a Roma family. In Iraq, Roma people are known as “Kawliya,” a community long tied to music and performance, but also one that has lived for generations at the edge of society. Sajida began singing at 12, performing at parties to help her family pay the bills.
By her teenage years she was already a known name. Her voice was warm and commanding, rooted in the dance rhythms of the Kawliya and in the older, more tender Iraqi style known as mawal. By the 1980s, it had reached the most powerful and most dangerous men in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein’s security guards would pull her away mid-performance from other people’s weddings and bring her to sing. She performed at the weddings of Saddam’s children and at birthday parties for his sons and daughters. It was the complicated price of being a national star in an era of dictatorship. She traveled the world, performed at international festivals and sometimes played as many as seven shows a week.
Shrinking space for Iraqi women
But the women-only parties were always special to her, said her brother and manager, Aayed Awda.
“Those parties were something the women themselves asked for, including women from the most conservative families, because they wanted a place where they could dress freely, move freely, be themselves,” he said. “Sajida believed deeply in helping women and giving them that space.”
Obaid’s songs sometimes pushed social boundaries, like “Inkasarat al-Sheesha” (“the shisha broke”), about a woman who has lost her virginity and must now face her family. “What will I tell my mother?” the lyrics ask. In Iraq, that is not a light question. Obaid sang it with a full voice, without apology.
Many Iraqi women feel that the gains they had made in rights over the years are receding. Last year, Iraqi Parliament passed amendments to the country’s personal status law that opponents say would in effect legalize child marriage and erode women’s rights in matters like divorce and inheritance.
“Iraq feels like it’s moving backward, and the space for women’s freedom is shrinking,” said Mohammed, the fan who borrowed money to attend Obaid’s parties. She hopes that the carefree moments they brought can “be carried forward, even in small ways, like women-only DJ nights with her music.”
A quiet end
In her final months, the woman who had sung on stages across five continents lived quietly in Irbil, in the home of her elder brother’s family. She had no children. She had married twice and divorced twice. She rarely went out. She spent her days close to the people she loved and played with the children in the house.
“She was gentle and warm, and she never once caused harm to anyone,” said her niece Sahar Sabti, 38, who shared the home with her. “She took care of everyone around her.”
About four months before Obaid died, doctors found lung cancer, Sabti said. She still insisted on flying to Canada for a concert. But when she came home to receive her first chemo session, her body gave up.
She was hospitalized in Irbil, where she remained for more than two weeks before being sent home on oxygen. Her family took her to the hospital once more, and this time she didn’t come home.
Her brother recalled the 40 years they worked together, and their sibling bickering about the shade of her makeup, the cut and color of her dress, the theme of the next party.
“We disagreed on everything,” Awda said, his voice breaking. “And I miss every single one of those arguments.”
On the seventh day of mourning, as the drum outside finally fell silent and the women inside dried their faces, they spoke about Obaid the way people speak about someone who has stepped out of the room for a moment.
“For me and my friends, dancing and Sajida are the same word,” said Leila Botrus, 55. “She brought people together everywhere she went through joy, through music.”
Outside in the tent, the band played its last song of the evening. The coffee in the cups grew cold, but the women stayed a little longer together.
In that room, filled with women sitting close together, it felt as though Sajida had left behind exactly what she always gave them; a space of their own.
Student Aisha Nizar Nazim won the title of champion of the ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge in Iraq, after qualifiers in which 1,339,270 students from 38,100 schools participated, under the supervision of 16,310 supervisors, who contributed to the success of the ninth edition of the largest reading event of its kind in the Arabic language in the world, organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation since its launch in 2015.
Student Aisha Nizar Nazim, a seventh-grade student at Zaha Hadid School for Excellence in Nineveh, was announced as the winner during the closing ceremony of the ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, which was held in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim Namis Al-Jabouri, Minister of Education; Dr. Adnan Al-Sarraj, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Education Affairs; Mohammed Dayea Al-Azzawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Administrative Affairs and Chairman of the Higher Committee; and Mr. Mohammed Saleh Al-Taniji, Acting Charge d’Affaires.
At the UAE Embassy in Baghdad, Dr. Fawzan Al Khalidi, Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, participated, along with a number of officials and educators in charge of the Arab Reading Challenge initiative, and a large crowd of parents of the participating students.
The closing ceremony also witnessed the announcement of Maria Hassan Ajeel, a fifth-grade student at Al Fara’a Girls School in the Salah al-Din district, as the winner of first place in the People of Determination category, out of 450 students who participated in the qualifiers
The list of the top ten finalists from which the judging committees selected student Aisha Nizar Nazim as the champion of the ninth Arab Reading Challenge at the level of the Republic of Iraq, included: Muntadhar Ahmed Mardan from the fifth grade at Al-Insaf School in the Karbala region, Akram Khalil Abdullah from the tenth grade at Al-Dhakirin Intermediate School (Kirkuk), Fatima Muhammad Abdul-Amir from the eleventh grade at Shams Al-Hurriyah Preparatory School (Najaf), Yusr Hamza Farhan from the eleventh grade at Al-Nabaa Al-Azim Secondary School (Qadisiyah), Rawan Muntadhar Mansour from the tenth grade at Haifa Intermediate School for Girls (Babylon), Hadi Hassan Hadi from the eleventh grade at Al-Nahrawan School for Boys (Rusafa 3), Aya Ziad Subhi from the eleventh grade at Al-Rafidain School (Kirkuk), Hussein Ali Ahmed from the tenth grade at Al-Dhakirin School (Kirkuk), and Haider Ali Abdul-Aziz from the seventh grade at Al-Muhwebin School (Najaf).
The ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge initiative achieved a record participation of 32 million and 231 thousand students from 50 countries representing 132,112 schools, under the supervision of 161,004 supervisors. His Excellency Professor Ibrahim Namis Al-Jabouri, Minister of Education of the Republic of Iraq, praised the vital role played by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation in empowering new Arab generations to acquire the knowledge, sciences, and skills necessary to build the future. He pointed to the successive successes achieved by the Arab Reading Challenge initiative in this context, and its tangible impact in spreading the culture of reading and developing the potential of Arab students.
He said: “We are proud of this new participation in the Arab Reading Challenge initiative. 133,920 students, through their interaction with this knowledge competition and their outstanding performance, have proven the development of the educational and cultural landscape in Iraq and the effectiveness of the plans put in place by the Ministry of Education to advance students’ levels and enhance the status of the Arabic language, in line with our rich cultural heritage and the creativity of the people of Iraq in various fields, thus strengthening our confidence in a brighter tomorrow for our country and the Arab nation.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Jubouri extended his congratulations to student Aisha Nizar Nazim, all the winners, participating students and their families, as well as to the schools and educational staff across Iraq. He extended his thanks to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation and everyone who contributed to the success of the ninth round’s qualifiers.
Dr. Fawzan Al Khalidi affirmed that the Arab Reading Challenge initiative continues to fulfill its mission of spreading the culture of knowledge, providing the means for rising Arab generations to enhance their capabilities, hone their talents, and strengthen their connection to the Arabic language, thus providing them with the visions and tools necessary to revive Arab civilization and contribute effectively to the development of Arab societies.
The Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation praised the wide Iraqi participation in the qualifying rounds of the ninth edition of the Arab Reading Challenge, saying: “We greatly appreciate the participation of more than 1.3 million students in the ninth edition, which reflects the great efforts made by the Ministry of Education in the sisterly Republic of Iraq, and those concerned with cultural affairs and Iraqi society to motivate students to read. These efforts represented a significant contribution to the achievement of the ninth edition, in which more than 32.2 million students from 50 countries around the world participated.”
On behalf of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation and the Arab Reading Challenge, Dr. Fawzan Al Khalidi congratulated the ninth edition’s champions in Iraq and all the participants. He also thanked the Iraqi Ministry of Education and everyone who helped the students advance to the ninth edition’s qualifying rounds.
The Arab Reading Challenge, launched in the 2015-2016 academic year under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to foster a comprehensive reading and knowledge movement, instill a culture of reading in Arabic as a language capable of keeping pace with all forms of literature, science, and knowledge, and encourage young generations to use Arabic in their daily interactions. It also aims to develop mechanisms for understanding and self-expression in fluent Arabic, and foster creative thinking skills.
The challenge seeks to enhance the importance of cognitive reading in building self-learning skills and fostering a value system for young people by exposing them to the values, customs, and beliefs of other cultures. This instills the principles of tolerance, coexistence, and acceptance of others, and encourages dialogue and cultural and human openness.
Iraq has taken a significant step towards preserving its cinematic heritage with the launch of the Cinémathèque Iraq project, a national initiative aimed at digitizing, restoring, and protecting Iraqi film archives. The project was officially announced during an event at the French Institute in Baghdad, attended by Iraqi filmmakers, artists, and cultural figures.
Under the supervision of the Iraqi Visual Memory Committee in the Prime Minister’s Office, the project is being developed in collaboration with the French Embassy in Iraq, with the goal of reviving Iraq’s film industry and ensuring that its rich cinematic history is accessible to future generations.
A mission to restore and preserve Iraqi cinema
Project director Warith Kweish emphasized the initiative’s importance, stating:
“Cinémathèque Iraq aims to restore and preserve more than 100 Iraqi films by training local experts in film archiving and preservation. The project also includes building specialized infrastructure in Iraq for film storage and restoration, ensuring that our visual history is safeguarded using advanced digitization techniques.”
Kweish highlighted that the project’s long-term vision is to make Iraq’s cinematic heritage available to a global audience, showcasing the country’s rich film history on both Arab and international platforms.
Classic Iraqi films undergo restoration
As part of the first phase of the project, two of Iraq’s most iconic films have been selected for restoration and digitization:
“Saeed Afandi” (1957) – One of the most influential films in Iraqi cinema, has arrived in Paris for restoration using modern digital techniques. The film is expected to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time an Iraqi film is featured at the prestigious event.
“Aliya and Issam” – A classic romantic drama is currently undergoing restoration to prepare it for cinematic screenings in Iraq and abroad.
French Ambassador Patrick Durel, who attended the launch, expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating:
“We are proud to collaborate with Iraq on this cultural initiative. This project is a crucial step toward preserving Iraq’s cinematic legacy and sharing its stories with the world.”
Building a strong foundation for Iraq’s film industry
Beyond archiving and restoration, Cinémathèque Iraq is envisioned as a comprehensive initiative to develop the country’s film industry. Filmmaker Jamal Amin, who has been involved in the project, explained:
“This initiative aims to establish a strong cinematic foundation in Iraq by supporting filmmakers and enhancing industry infrastructure. Our goal is to create a sustainable film ecosystem that includes training, production, and international collaboration.”
The project seeks to attract local and international investment in Iraqi cinema, providing grants for film projects and facilitating the growth of Iraq’s independent film industry.
Future expansion and international cooperation
Filmmaker Falah al-Azzawi highlighted the project’s potential for international partnerships, stating that Cinémathèque Iraq will expand its reach by:
Collaborating with global film institutions to gain expertise in film preservation.
Encouraging private-sector participation to support Iraq’s film industry.
Establishing cultural exchange programs with international filmmakers.
According to Prime Ministerial Advisor Hassan al-Sudani, the government plans to expand the initiative beyond cinema, with upcoming projects focused on restoring Iraq’s television and radio archives.
The launch event was also attended by prominent cultural figures, including the head of the Iraqi Artists’ Syndicate, Jabbar Joudi, and the director of the Department of Cinema and Theater. They praised the project as a landmark effort to protect Iraq’s artistic and cinematic history.
A new era for Iraqi cinema
With the Cinémathèque Iraq initiative, Iraq is positioning itself as a key player in regional cinema, working towards preserving its cinematic past while building a future for Iraqi filmmakers. As the country embraces digital restoration and industry development, it is opening doors for global recognition and participation in international film festivals.
Through this initiative, Iraq is not only reclaiming its cinematic heritage but also laying the groundwork for a thriving film industry that can compete on the global stage.
In the heart of ancient Kufa, where Iraqi tradition clings to the air like the scent of sawdust, one man stands against the tide of time.
Sayyed Nehma Hassan al-Fahham, better known as Abu Karrar, has turned a fading heritage into a living legacy, handcrafting wooden boats just as his father and grandfather did before him.
At over sixty, Abu Karrar moves with the ease of a man half his age, weaving between planks and tools in his modest workshop, tucked within the old city’s narrow, echoing streets.
Here, with calloused hands and steady resolve, he breathes life into vessels that glide through Iraq’s rivers and marshes—from the southern waters of Basra to the far edges of Tharthar.
Boats Born of Tradition
“We build for fishermen—and sometimes for fun,” he says with a quiet smile, gesturing toward a half-finished bellem tayara (fast boat), a large craft that takes over a month of meticulous work.
Each boat tells a different story: the Kad, Rika, Kad Abu al-Gharafa, and Kad Karufi serve different needs, while the smaller Jalaka, perfect for shallow waters, can be built in just a week. Prices stretch from 500,000 ($379.85) to 7 million dinars ($5,317.96), with specialized sea-going boats like the Maheela fetching up to 25 million ($18,992.73).
Blending Old Soul with New Strength
Abu Karrar’s tools may look old-fashioned, but his methods are a careful blend of past and present. He still uses traditional woods—jam, sidr, touth, and imported jawy—but the tar once used to seal hulls has given way to fiberglass, boosting durability and streamlining the process.
“We adapt where we need to,” he said, “but the spirit of the craft stays the same.”
Kufa’s Boats, Iraq’s Waters
What starts in Kufa doesn’t stay there. His boats travel—shipped to Basra, Maysan, Al-Nasiriyah, Al-Diwaniyah, Al-Kut, and beyond.
“We source wood locally or import it, depending on the order,” he explained. “Six-arm length, seven-arm, whatever the customer wants—we make it.”
Despite the pressures of modernization and faster transport, Abu Karrar and his brothers keep the flame of this ancient trade burning. Their boats aren’t just vessels—they’re floating memories, carved in wood, and launched into Iraq’s living waters.
The activities of the International Eazees International Women’s Theatre Festival have kicked off in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, with Arab and international participation. ‘The festival organizers announced the honoring of the esteemed Iraqi artist Awatef Naeem, within its second edition, which is being held from May 16 to 22 in Cairo, as reported by the Iraqi News Agency-INA. “Actress Awatif Naim is one of the most prominent stars in the Arab world,” festival chairwoman Abeer Lotfi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), noting that “Naim’s talent did not limit her to a specific role, but unleashed her to fly in the sky of art through acting, writing, directing and scientific research, which reflects the ability of women and their ability to prove themselves in difficult fields that require great effort.” She pointed out that “the artist is scheduled to be honored for the play “I am my face”, which was written and directed by her, and co-starring artists and artists (Shatha Salem, Samar Mohammed, Shaima Jaafar and Ali Al-Sudani),” explaining that “the events of the play revolve around three women who embody the suffering that women endure in family, social and political life, to reach their essence and their true face.” It’s to be mentioned, Awatif Naim, an Iraqi actress, director and academic researcher, was born in 1949. She obtained a doctorate in theater directing, and began her artistic career by writing and directing many programs and series for Iraqi radio and television, in parallel with her work in the field of criticism and academic research in theater, and she is a founding member of the Theater Critics Association in Iraq.
She was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2022 by the French Ministry of Culture. She founded the Children’s Theater Department at the Department of Cinema and Theater in 1996 and held its first festival in 2002.
Boasting an attendance of 16,000 people, including Nobel laureates in literature, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture concluded its ninth annual Iqra competition on Saturday.
Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s president and CEO, and other senior officials attended the two-day event in Dhahran.
Nobel literature laureates Abdulrazak Gurnah and Olga Tokarczuk were also present and offered insights during speaking sessions.
Visitors experienced a series of activities, culminating in the announcement of the competition’s winners.
Moroccan Meryem Bououd was awarded Reader of the Year, while 10-year-old Moroccan Fatima Kettani won the Promising Reader prize.
Iraqi Hira Karkhi secured the Text of the Year prize, while the Reading School award went to Tarbiyat Al-Ajial of the Private International School, Hafr Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Safia Al-Ghubari claimed the People’s Reader award, while teacher Najla Ghazi Al-Suhaimi took home the Reading Ambassador prize.
Noura Al-Zamil, Ithra’s program director, spoke of the competition’s significant milestones since its inception in 2013.
Over nine editions Iqra has attracted more than 225,000 applicants and offered 48,000 hours of educational programming.
It has also engaged more than 600 speakers from 30 countries, bringing three Nobel Prize-winning authors to its stage.
Al-Zamil stressed Ithra’s continued efforts to innovate, introducing new elements like the Iqra Travels, Iqra Marathon, and Kitabiya Exhibit, to foster a reading culture among Arab youngsters.
The closing event featured cultural sessions, including a talk by Tokarczuk, who discussed literature as a tool for bridging languages and cultures.
Discussing the future, Tokarczuk expressed both optimism and caution, adding: “I embrace modern tools like ChatGPT but remain concerned about their potential misuse.”
Gurnah, reflecting on his roots, said: “Zanzibar will always be my true homeland, despite my long absence.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Boasting an attendance of 16,000 people, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture concluded its ninth annual Iqra competition on Saturday. (Supplied)
Iraqi American Zenovia Jafar was over the moon for “having made it” as she was crowned winner of the Miss Arab USA 2024 pageant in Arizona on Sunday.
“My experience with Miss Arab USA is one of the best experiences of my life. When I walked in, I had no idea what was going to happen, if I was even going to win. But most importantly, when I walked in, I will honestly say that winning was the only thing on my mind. I didn’t think about anything else,” Jafar told Arab News in an interview.
“But once I actually got there, I realized the friendships and the connections I’ve made with the people here is priceless and it is far more important than winning … I genuinely wanted to connect with every single person that I met, and I think that’s what helped me win Miss Arab USA. Because I focused more on genuine connection and doing what I need to do. And I was committed to just being myself,” she added.
When asked about her goals going forward, the Michigan resident said: “I’m going to be using my platform to raise awareness on issues regarding people who are … from underdeveloped communities, people who are in need. I’m going to be raising more money for charities. I’m here to serve Miss Arab USA and use my voice to amplify the voices of people who are not heard all over the world.”
Jafar’s family moved to the US — having escaped the war in Iraq and spent two years in Syria after — in the late 90s, when she was a toddler.
“When I moved here, I remember one thing that my mother told us is that we should never forget our roots and where we come from. My mother was committed to teaching us how to read and write and speak Arabic. And that is something that I am so grateful to my mother for because I can read Arabic, I can write Arabic, I can speak Arabic, I can understand many Arabic dialects. And I never let go of who I was and where my family came from. And I think that’s something that is so important when you grow up away from home, is to stay connected to who you are. Because at the end of the day, all you have is your roots,” she said.
When asked if she had any advice for young Arab American women, Jafar said: “I will say that as an Arab woman, it is very, very important to push your limits and always do things outside of your comfort zone because you will never grow as a person if you are stuck in your comfort zone. Always push yourself to be better.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Iraqi American Zenovia Jafar (centre) was over the moon for “having made it” as she was crowned winner of the Miss Arab USA 2024 pageant in Arizona on Sunday. (Supplied)
Wadih Betty, the Republic of Iraq’s ambassador to France, declared on Thursday that Iraq has been selected director general of the Arab World Institute in Paris. In a statement obtained by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Betty stated that “the president of the institute, Jack Lang, signed the letter of assignment for Iraq’s candidate and the Council of the Arab League, poet and writer Shawqi Abdul Amir Al-Hamdani.” He cited “the tremendous efforts made by the Iraqi embassy in Paris, which culminated in reaching a full Arab consensus on the selection of Iraq’s candidate, under the continuous follow-up of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and under the direct supervision of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.”
“Iraq receives the management of the Institute for the first time since its emergence in the eighties of the last century by former French President Jacques Chirac, which is supervised by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said, expressing gratitude to the Dean and members of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Paris for their trust in the Republic of Iraq’s candidate for this position. The French Ministry of Culture awarded Shawqi Abdul Amir Al-Hamdani the Knight’s Order of Arts and Letters for 2023, and he is a cultural and literary figure with several books published in both Arabic and French, the speaker noted.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, expressed his appreciation for the patronage and the support the Award continues to receive from His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court. He also praised Sheikh Mansour’s contribution to the development of the date palm cultivation and production sector at the national, regional and international levels.
This is in addition to strengthening the UAE’s leading position through cooperation with date-producing countries and concerned regional and international organisations, where Sheikh Nahyan expressed his confidence in the efforts of the Award’s General Secretariat, which played an important role in building global partnerships to develop this sector.
Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Secretary-General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, announced the winners of the Award in its 16th session during his speech at the press conference held on Monday at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of Dr. Helal Humaid Saed Al Kaabi, Member of the Award’s Board of Trustees, and Secretary-General of the Abu Dhabi Council for Quality and Conformity.
International Award Winners:
The award in the Distinguished Innovative Studies and Modern Technology category was won by Dr. Khaled Masmoudi – College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (UAEU) for “Enzyme stabilization and thermotolerance function of the intrinsically disordered LEA2 proteins from date palm” and Dr. Ezzeldin Gadallah Hussein Ahmed – Agricultural Research Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (Egypt), for “Phoenix dactylifera in vitro culture and transformation of Thio-60 antifungal gene via chitosan nanoparticle”.
The award in the Pioneering Development and Productive Projects category was won by Dr. Lim Swee Hua Erin – HCT (Abu Dhabi), for “Sustainable Seeds: A Tale of Two Innovations” and AFRICA ORGANICS (Morocco), for the world’s largest organic date palm plantation (1200 ha) of farmland.
The award in the Pioneering and Sophisticated Innovations Serving the Agricultural Sector category was won by Dr. Yarub Kahtan Abdul Rahman Al Doruri – University of Sharjah for “Production of powder-activated carbon from natural resources” and VALORIZEN LLC, Research and Innovation Centre (Egypt) for “Scalable, Market Driven and Climate Positive Solutions of Date Palm Waste”.
The award in the Influential Figure in the Field of Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation category was won by Dr. Ramzy Abdelrahim Dessoky Aboaiana (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Prof. Ibraheem Jaddoa Olelwi Al Juboori, PhD (Iraq) for “A qualitative leap and big steps”.
