ABU DHABI: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, honoured the winners of the International Burda Award at its 14th session Tuesday evening.
The award was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development in the fields of poetry, calligraphy and ornamentation celebrating the glorious biography of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), at the National Theatre in Abu Dhabi.
The ceremony began with a tour by Shaikh Abdullah and Shaikh Nahyan and senior guests to the Burda exhibition, followed by a speech by Shaikh Nahyan, after which the operetta “Messenger of Peace and Forgiveness” was performed by Mohammad Abdu.
Shaikh Abdullah and Shaikh Nahyan then honoured the winners in the four categories of the award.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his happiness with the achievements of the International Burda Award in previous sessions, such as its great success in support of the Arabic language and its arts and literature, and in the promotion of the status of Islamic Art, especially Arabic calligraphy and decoration.
In his speech, Shaikh Nahyan said, “We are honoured today with the presence of Shaikh Abdullah at the International Burda Award, which he originated while he was the Minister of Culture and Media.”
Shaikh Nahyan stressed that the award is an important cultural event of which the nation should be proud, as it is in constant revolution and is now attracting competitors from all over the world.
The ceremony was attended by Saqr Bin Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Ahmad Juma Al Za’abi, Deputy Minister for Presidential Affairs, Afra Al Sabri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, and more than 40 ambassadors to the state, guests and residents.
