Sharjah, Oct 06th, 2012 (WAM)--Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY), has welcomed the Jury of the 2012 Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature in the presence of Abdul Aziz Taryam, General Manager of Etisalat, Northern Region.

The jury were recently approved by the award management. The UAEBBY supervises the organisation of Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature.

The meeting was held at Al Qasba and attended by Marwa Al Aqroubi, General Coordinator of the Award, Amani Al Ali, Manager of the Executive Office of Sheikha Bodour, and Fareed Jumaa, Director of Etisalat Public Relations, as well as the UAEBBY work team.

The judging panel is composed of Arab experts in children?s literature with diverse qualifications, including publishers, authors, illustrators, academics, and foreign experts. The names of the jury members are kept confidential until after the selection process has been completed, so as to ensure the transparency and fairness of the results, which will be announced during the opening ceremony of the Sharjah International Book Fair in November.

Sheikha Bodour praised the jury members for their fairness and competence, neutrality and objectivity, and reaffirmed that the award was founded to promote Arabic children?s literature and culture.

During the meeting, the talk touched on the current status of the cultural movement and the Award?s role in bringing about a new dynamic movement in the general scene of Arabic children?s literature despite the difficult conditions that can be found in certain Arab countries.

Sheikha Bodour highlighted the great achievements that have been made in the cultural movement as well as the increase in creativity in Arabic children?s books since the launch of the Award. A host of creative ideas, values and visions were also presented during the meeting.

She underlined the importance of working with the spirit of one team in order to achieve the Award?s objective of encouraging creative potential in the Arab world and honouring literary and art figures who have devoted their efforts to enriching the Arab children?s library.

Abdul Aziz Taryam, General Manager of Etisalat, Northern Region, said "We are extremely proud to be sponsoring the Award for the fourth consecutive year. Etisalat is a key partner in this cultural extravaganza that aims to highlight the UAE?s role in supporting Arabic literary works and children?s literature specifically, and boost the number of creative works being produced to further enhance the Emirates? local and international reputation." The assessment and selection of the nominated books is based on a number of professional criteria and books with ties to any of the members of the panel of judges are automatically excluded from the competition. The diverse qualifications and specialties, as well as the geographical diversity of the jury, have also been considered, with its members forming a cross section representative of most Arab regions.

The jury discussed the organizational framework of the award represented in the award?s vision, mission, goals and general framework, as well as the selection of the panel?s chairman and the general terms of the award.

They have also examined the 58 entries from the UAE, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq to select the winner of the 4th edition of the award.

The AED1million Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature is given annually to the best Arabic children's book, with 50 per cent of the award money going to the winning publisher, and the remaining 50 per cent being divided between the author and illustrator as per the decision of the jury.

One of the most prestigious awards for children's literature in the Arab region, the Award aims to encourage publishing houses to embrace children's literature, and to urge authors and illustrators to develop their writing skills and tools in the best interests of children's literature and the children?s book industry. The Award organisers hope that this award will contribute to shaping the awareness and future of children in the Arabic world.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2012.