Dubai: The Dh2.8million ($750,000) Mohammed Bin Rashid Arabic Language Award honoured the winners of its sixth and seventh editions during the inaugural day of the Al Arabiah Conference on the Arabic Language on Monday.
Organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation, the event was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and in the presence of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and Member of the Dubai Council.
The winners included individuals, teams, and institutions who took part in unique projects that support and promote the Arabic language. The Al Arabiah conference, which takes place until November 8, features seminars, meetings, and panel discussions in the presence of an elite group of writers, specialists, and interested parties.
The ceremony was attended by Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of Dubai; Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library (MBRL) Foundation; and Bilal Al Budoor, Secretary-General of the Award.
Speaking on the occasion, Al Murr said: “The Mohammed Bin Rashid Arabic Language Award reflects the great strides made by the intellectual and cultural movement, in line with the unique vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It also shows the UAE’s commitment to preserve the Arabic language and sustainably develop it.”
He added: “Since the establishment and launch of this award, we have been keen to prioritise spreading awareness on the importance of personal and institutional initiatives in this field. Additionally, we encourage youth to be creative in coming up with different uses for the Arabic language. We’ve also worked to promote Arabisation to benefit from different cultural experiences, to position the Arabic language as the language of the future.”
Winners of 6th edition
The first subcategory in the Education segment of the awards recognises efforts to figure out the best way to teach and learn Arabic in early education, the winner being the Arab Thought Foundation from Lebanon for its initiative ‘Contributing to the Development of Learning and Teaching the Arabic Language (Arabic 21)’.
In the Media and Communication segment, the first subcategory applauded outstanding work in Arabic in electronic media and social media channels. Karaza Children’s Channel from the US was named the winner in this category.
In the Technology category, the first subcategory recognised the best initiative to use social networking or intelligent technical application for learning and publishing Arabic. Mahmoud Salah Abdelaziz Al-Sayed Suleiman from Egypt was named the winner for his initiative ‘Easy Arabic’.
In the Linguistic Policy, Planning and Arabisation segment, the first subcategory recognised efforts to evolve the best language policy and planning initiative. The winner in this category was The National Arabic Language Week initiative in Chad, organised and supervised by the General Union of Arabic Language Support Institutions in Chad.
In the Culture, Intellect and Knowledge Society segment, the first subcategory recognised the best initiative to promote a reading culture and a knowledge society, with The Family Reading Programme by Youth Sada, an Omani Foundation, taking top honours.
Winners of 7th edition
The first subcategory in the Education segment that recognises the best way to teach and learn Arabic in early education saw the ‘One Book for Us, One Study Day for You’ initiative by Ajyal Foundation for Education from the UAE taking top honours.
In the Media and Communication segment, the first subcategory recognised the best initiative to serve the cause of the Arabic language in the media. Dubai Media Incorporated in the UAE took the top honours for its programme ‘Inspector Faseeh’.
In the Technology segment, the first subcategory to reward the best initiative using social networking or intelligent technical application for learning and publishing Arabic saw the Engineering Company for Digital System Development from Egypt adjudged the winner for its ‘Natiq’ initiative.
In the Linguistic Policy, Planning and Arabisation segment, the first subcategory recognising the best Language Policy and Planning Initiative also saw a winner from the UAE with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority’s project to support digital Arabic content in prime position.
In the Culture, Intellect and Knowledge Society segment for the best artistic, cultural or intellectual work to serve the Arabic language, the first subcategory saw Bidaya Media in the UAE being adjudged the winner for ‘The Adventures of Mansour’ programme.
Previous editions of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Arabic Language Award attracted strong international participation from individuals and institutions. Since its launch, the award has received a total of 8,246 submissions and named 49 winners. The previous edition alone attracted more than 1,300 submissions. The award encourages individuals, institutions and teams to showcase their efforts under 11 categories falling under five primary areas of focus.
