Abu Dhabi: Eight winners of the 11th Shaikh Zayed Book Awards were presented with over Dh6 million in prizes for their immense cultural contribution to society at a ceremony held at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) on Sunday evening.
Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, presented the awards to the winners befor an august audience.
Seven of the winners received Dh750,000 each, a gold medal and a certificate of merit. The winner for the Cultural Personality of the Year, received Dh1 million. The title is bestowed on prominent figures for their unique contributions to the advancement of Arabic culture, and for works that portray tolerance and promote peaceful coexistence.
Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and CEO of Kalimat Group, received the Publishing and Technology award.
The Moroccan historian and scholar, Dr. Abdallah Laroui, was presented with the prestigious 2017 Cultural Personality of the Year, for influencing Arab political thinking as well as cultural and literacy practices with his valuable contribution to academic institutes and scientific bodies.
During his acceptance speech, Dr. Laroui said, “Culture (literature) brings all the hearts together and creates hope for us to feel safe.” He also said he was very proud to receive an award that holds the name of Shaikh Zayed, a person who has given so much to people and culture.
Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the ceremony about the importance of the award, he said, “The point of this award is to build bridges between cultures. It is very important.”
“I was struck by the presence of a very important delegation of Chinese people [at ADIBF], it is very important for the future of Arabs to have different and very variant cultures, Eastern or Western,” he added.
China is the Guest of Honour at this year’s ADIBF with a delegation of around 200 people.
Dr. Laroui went on to say that he had travelled to the UAE back in 1974 were he had presented a speech on rationality, reason and faiths. “I was very well understood then; now the situation is different,” he said.
Dr. Laroui, whose portfolio includes numerous publications of scholarly studies, literary works and translations in a number of Moroccan, Arabic and French journals, was praised during the ceremony for being a “personality who refuses to mix religion and politics.”
Asked what he was going to do with the Dh1 million prize money, he laughed and said, “I am going to give it to my son, where is he?”
The winner of the Children’s Literature award, Lateefa Buti, was not present to collect her prize in person due to health reasons.
The Shaikh Zayed Book Awards are presented every year to outstanding Arab writers, intellectuals and publishers as well as young talents whose writings and translations of humanities have scholarly and objectively enriched Arab cultural, literary and social life.
The award were established in memory of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his pioneering role in the nation’s development. It is an independent cultural award administered by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), with a total monetary value of seven million dirhams.
The winners of Shaikh Zayed Book Awards:
Cultural Personality of the Year: Dr. Abdallah Laroui
Professor Laroui has in-depth knowledge of Arabic culture and Western values, with wide interests across intellectual, literary and artistic scopes, especially in the fields of philosophy, history, narrative arts, and cinema.
The ‘Publishing and Technology’ Award: “Kalimat Group”, Sharjah, UAE
The ‘Literature’ Award: ‘Khareef al Bara’a’ (The Autumn of Innocence) by the Lebanese author Abbas Beydoun, published by Dar Al Saqi (2016)
The ‘Contribution to the Development of Nations’ Award: ‘Al Islam wal Insan’ (Islam and the Human Being) by Mohammad Chahrour from Syria, published by Dar Al Saqi (2016)
The ‘Children’s Literature’ Award: ‘Bila qubba’a’(Hatless) by Lateefa Buti from Kuwait, published by Seedan Media — Kuwait (2015)
The ‘Translation’ Award: ‘Averroés: Le Philosophe Et La Loi’ Ibn Rushd’ translated from Arabic to French by Lebanese/ French Ziad Bou Akel, published by De Gruyter, Berlin (2015)
The ‘Literary and Art Criticism’ Award: ‘Fā‘iliyyat al-Khayāl al-Adabī’ (The Validity of Literary Fiction) by the Iraqi/Australian scholar Said Al Ghanimi, published by Al Kamel Verlag (2015)
The ‘Arabic Culture in Other Languages’ Award: ‘Vom Denken der Natur zur Natur des Denkens’ by David Wirmer
