Abu Dhabi: The nomination process for the Abu Dhabi Awards will be open for the public from April 16, with the nomination process also having been made simpler for the people who wish to put someone forward, organisers said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

Established in 2005, the Abu Dhabi Awards recognises the work of individuals who have contributed to make the emirate a better place for its inhabitants, and also aims to motivate and inspire others to do the same.

“The Abu Dhabi Award honours and recognises individuals who have contributed to building a greater sense of community, the awards recognises individuals who have given back to Abu Dhabi selflessly,” said Abdul Nasser Al Rashidi, a member of the Abu Dhabi organising committee.

“Our vision is to celebrate the spirit of selflessness … and the reason we do this is because we want to inspire these people and to motivate them to do more of what they have been doing, and to also motivate the [general] people of Abu Dhabi,” he added.

Explaining the timeline process for the Abu Dhabi Awards, Al Rashidi said that there are three different stages for the award from the point of being nominated all the way to the winners being announced.

“The Abu Dhabi Awards is split into three periods. The nomination period starts from April 16 to June 3. The next phase is the screening period from June to November, during that period we are looking at all different nominations.

“After the screening and review period, we will have the awarding ceremony which will take place in the first quarter of 2018, and this is where we award eight to 10 individuals,” he added.

Al Rashidi also said that anyone can be nominated for the award as long as they have done something to make Abu Dhabi better.

“Anybody can be nominated regardless of age, gender and nationality. It is [open] to Abu Dhabi citizens, residents, non-residents, and also people internationally who have contributed to Abu Dhabi selflessly even though they are not in the UAE.

“There are no categories, it is all about how somebody selflessly gave back to Abu Dhabi. It is important to remember it is about the acts and deeds,” he added.

The nomination process has also been made more easy and diversified, according to Al Rashidi, who said that people can now nominate someone online or through the Abu Dhabi Awards’ call centre at 8003331.

“We have upgraded the nomination form so it is easier to fill in now, before we found out that it was a bit long and tedious … So we decided to simplify the form.

“[People] can also go online and nominate there [through our website]. We also have an integrated nomination through Facebook; there is a Facebook plug in for the Abu Dhabi Award Facebook page [and] the whole form is there,” he added.

Al Rashidi said the online nomination form has also been made user friendly for mobile phone users so that they can nominate someone through their own smartphone.

Booths and stands will also be available at major shopping malls across Abu Dhabi including Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi Mall, and Al Wahda Mall among others for people to go and nominate someone.

More information can be found through the awards’ official website:

https://www.abudhabiawards.ae/