UAE | Heritage and Culture
Zayed award winners named
Arab writers, intellectuals and publishers were awarded for their contributions to Arab culture and literature and in the second Shaikh Zayed Book Awards.
- By Shireena Al Nowais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:48 March 13, 2008
- Shaikh Hamdan with the winners of the Shaikh Zayed Book Award 2008 after the presentation ceremony at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi last night.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: In a grand awards ceremony on Wednesday Arab writers, intellectuals and publishers were awarded for their contributions to Arab culture and literature and in the second Shaikh Zayed Book Awards.
The awards were presented by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister.
The Shaikh Zayed Book Award established in 2006 in appreciation of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and in tribute to his pioneering role in unifying, developing and building the UAE and its citizens gave away Dh5.5 million worth of prizes.
The cash prize for the Cultural Personality of the Year was raised to Dh1 million.
Embodiment
Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, congratulated the winners saying that they were an embodiment of culture, education and literature.
He also was appreciative of the efforts of all those who took part in the award but did not win, wishing them better luck in future rounds.
Rashed Al Ureimi, Secretary-General of the Shaikh Zayed Book Award, said during the opening ceremony that the second session of the book award saw 732 submissions from 30 different countries.
He said that the award signifies the high place that the late Shaikh Zayed holds in our hearts and his strong belief in the importance of education.
The Shaikh Zayed Award for the Cultural Personality of the Year, which honours a person who is a prominent Arab or international figure who has contributed to enriching Arab culture and embodies, through their work, authentic values, tolerance and enhances peaceful coexistence went to Mohammad Bin Eisa, the former Moroccan Minister.
Literature
The Shaikh Zayed young author award which includes scientific, literary and cultural work went to Mohammad Saadi from Morocco.
The Shaikh Zayed Award for Translation, which includes work translated directly from their original languages, either from or to Arabic in the fields of sociology, literature, art and cultural technology went to Fayez Al Sayagh.
The Fine Arts Award, which includes calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, music, folklore, cinema, photography and digital arts went to Iraqi architect, Refat Al Jadergi.
The Shaikh Zayed Award for Publishing and Distribution which goes to the best publisher, distributor or publishing house that publishes books in various fields of culture went to the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research
The Award for Literature which includes poetry, short stories, novels and plays, whether the work is fictitious or a literary criticism went to Libyan novelist Ebrahim Al Kooni
The Shaikh Zayed Award for Children's Literature which includes literary and cultural work especially dedicated for children of various age groups, whether fictitious, historical or scientific in appealing and simplified versions went to Houda Al Shawa from Kuwait.
However, the Shaikh Zayed Awards for Best Contribution to the Development of the Country and the Shaikh Zayed Award for the Best Technology in the Field of Culture which includes written and digitally recorded works that promote Arabic language whether by individuals or research centres were both omitted.
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