Dubai: With 1,575 nominations and 86 prize winners since its inception in 1986, the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation Award has easily become one of the most illustrious in the Arab literary world.
The foundation honoured its seven 2014-2015 prize winners at its headquarters in Al Riqqa on Tuesday, marking the 14th edition of the award.
Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, presented the award to winners in seven different categories including poetry, short story and novel, playwriting, linguistic studies and humanitarian studies.
Each of the winners was given a certificate of appreciation, a commemorative shield and $120,000 (Dh440,778).
“The prize honours those who have strived to develop the literary crafts. By acknowledging their accomplishments, we encourage future generations to take an innovative and creative approach to literature and literary and historical studies. The Arabic language is a beautiful one, and it is important that we do what we can to preserve and develop it,” Dr Gargash said.
He added that the award’s success was made possible under the auspices of the country’s leaders. Dr Gargash called on contemporary writers and literary critics to submit their applications for the next round of awards.
Prize winners include Emirati poet Habib Al Sayegh, Kuwaiti novelist, playwright and short story writer Esmail Fahd Esmail, and Egyptian novelist, playwright and short story Yousuf Al Qaeed.
Dr Salah Fadel, from Egypt, and Dr Kamal Abou Deeb, from Syria, each won the award for their efforts in literary studies and criticism, while Dr Rushdi Rashed from Egypt won the Humanities award.
The King Faisal Foundation won the award for cultural and scientific achievement.
Some of the notable attendees included Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, and Prince Bandar Bin Saud Bin Khalid Al Saud, secretary-general of the King Faisal Foundation, who came to accept the award granted to the foundation.
Prince Bandar spoke of the foundation efforts and its annual prize, King Faisal International Prize, to “dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference”.
The prize’s categories include service to Islam, Islamic studies, Arabic Language and literature, science, and medicine.
Prince Bandar also spoke about the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, which was established in 1983. The centre studies issues affecting the Arab and Muslim worlds, and organises a number of conferences each year. “One of the King Faisal Centre’s main goals is to raise awareness about the contribution of Islamic civilisation to human heritage and to highlight the main distinguishing features of Islamic civilisation,” he said, adding that it also aims to help train a new generation of scholars specialised in the fields of Islamic studies, Arabic language, and the social sciences
The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation is named after an Emirati poet, who was born in Sharjah in 1925. The poet established the award bearing his name on December 17, 1987, with the aim of honouring, encouraging and supporting Arab scholars, writers and intellectuals. He died in January 2000.
