Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Thursday honoured 24 winners of the Al Burda Award during a ceremony at the Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi.
In attendance at the event were Shaikh Nahayan Bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance, and Noura Mohammad Al Ka’abi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development.
Shaikh Abdullah and Al Ka’abi honoured the winners for their outstanding submissions in the award’s three categories Arabic calligraphy, Islamic ornamentation (Zakhrafa), and poetry.
The winners included Mahfouz Ahmad, Ali Ehsan, Abdul Mohsen Nassar, Ali Rida, and Sara Attar in the Classical Calligraphy category. Shaima Accor, Yumida Sorovo, Askar Muradi, Ma’Souma Muradi, and Muhsen Murady were named winners in the Islamic Ornamentation (Zakhrafa) category, while Aqil Ahmad, Ebrahim Al Hassoun, Iman Al Jishi, Fadi Al Ouaid, Abus Sorova, and Hossam Abdul Wahhab won in the Hurufiyya Modern Calligraphy category.
Moreover, Khalid Hasan, Ahmad Basal, Amina Hazmoun, and Mohammad Yakoub emerged winners in the Classical Poetry category. The Nabati Poetry category named Ali Al Qah’tani, Zayed Al Daif, Saud Al Mohammad, and Mozna Mubarak as the winners.
Shaikh Abdullah praised the success that Al Burda Award has achieved over the span of 15 years, and noted that it has become a platform that convenes renowned personalities and stakeholders from the Islamic calligraphy, poetry and ornamentation spheres.
In her address, Al Ka’abi said: “Al Burda Award enjoys a pioneering position globally as a platform that showcases the breadth and beauty of our cultural legacy and Islamic identity. The uniqueness of the Arab and Islamic civilisation is further highlighted through the creative and high calibre body of work that the award attracts every year.”
Launched in 2004 by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, the Al Budra Award commemorates the birth and life of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) through poetry, Islamic ornamentation and Arabic calligraphy.
