Dubai: The greatest Hope Maker in the Arab world will be awarded a Dh1-million prize on Thursday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The winner of the Arab Hope Makers initiative, which received over 65,000 submissions from 22 Arab countries, will be honored at a gala award ceremony to be held at the Sound Stage in Dubai Studio City for his or her commitment to spreading hope.

Launched in March 1, the initiative under the umbrella of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Initiatives (MBRGI) as part of the Year of Giving, aims to shed light on the inspirational stories of people who provide hope and spread it among communities throughout the Arab world.

It seeks to honour them, highlight their achievements in society and reward their journey, which leads to contributing to social prosperity in a number of fields. The ceremony will be held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammad.

“Today (Thursday) we celebrate and honour the unsung heroes of the Arab World, the ones who give us hope. We celebrate all 65,000 stories of hope, inspiration and altruism; we celebrate the spirit of optimism, and we refuse to submit to despair, however difficult our circumstances are,” a representative from MBRGI said.

The Arab Hope Makers initiative is in line with Shaikh Mohammad’s vision to spread hope across the Arab World, he added, asserting that hope provides the foundation for stability and paves the path for us to reignite our civilisation.

“Hope gives us strength, stability and progress; it is the most powerful force, capable of transforming societies and peoples. It is more critical for us today than ever to embrace the spirit of hope and spread it among our communities,” he said.

The Arab Hope Makers initiative is proof of the fact that there is a lot of good happening in this part of the world, he continued. “Regardless of the challenges we are facing, positive people work hard and do not despair – this is not strange to our culture. We hope that the stories shared at the event inspire people to embrace a positive outlook and become champions of hope themselves.”

Jury members, who will vote for the winner, will include Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs; Ali Jaber, Dean of the Mohammad Bin Rashid School of Communications and Group TV Director of MBC, and Ahmad Al Shugairi, a media personality.

When launched, the initiative garnered 65,489 nominations in one month only. Volunteer-based initiatives were the most common, it was announced. Twenty-two Arab countries had nominated people in their communities and the highest amount of nominations came from Egypt.

Many of the submitted nominations revealed the stories of individuals who profoundly improved the lives of others in their communities.

The stories also reveal the dire challenges that many people in the Arab world face, as well as the commitment and humanitarian spirit of others who generously give their time and effort to overcome these obstacles and spread optimism and hope.

Various distinguished dignitaries and representatives from local and regional media will attend the event, which will see renowned entertainer Mohammed Assaf, a group of children from MBC’s “The Voice Kids” and violinist Jihad Akl make special performances.

Tickets to attend the gala award ceremony are available free of charge to those who wish to attend the event through registration at www.arabhopemakers.com.