Hamed attends Award-giving ceremony of Zayed Book Award

Abu Dhabi, 18th March 2009 (WAM) -- H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, attended today at the Emirates Palace the award-giving ceremony of the third editionof the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the presence of a crowd of men of letter, intellectuals, cultural personalities, and medipersons.

The function was also attended by HE Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Dr. Mughir Al Khaili, Director General of Abu Dhabi Education Council, Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei,Director General of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, a number of officials and Arab and foreign diplomats.

In his welcoming address, Rashed Al Oraimi, Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, said :''The Zayed Book Award is, in the first place, a message of peace, love and appreciation of the achievementsof the human mind, the great miracle of the Creator.

''The Award is part of the role Abu Dhabi believes it should assume humanly and culturally in lifting the Arab World from the staus quothat is under our aspirations - as peoples and governments -to what should be today,''he said.

Sheikh Hamed Al Oraimi then honoured the winners of the award.

Dr. Sa'ad Abdulaziz Maslouh, Professor of Linguistics, won the translation award for his book "Translation Theory: Contemporary Trends".

Egyptian novelist Gamal Al Ghitani won the the Award for best Work in Literature. Al Ghitani's winning novel "Ran" is a work that ventures into Egypt's ancient history in an effort to revive the myths and stories through the use of sophist parables. The novel is the 6th volume of Dafater Al- Tadween (Arabic for books) and encompasses the spiritual journey of the writer paralleled with an actual travel he assumes from the Pyramid Plateau to the Southern parts of Egypt.

Dr. Baqer Salman Al Najjar of Bahrain and Dr. Yousef Waglesi, of Algeria were winners of the Award in two categories, the best contribution to the Development of the Country and the Best Young Author respectively.

Al Najjar won the award for his book "The Strenuous Democracy in the Arabian Gulf" and Waglesi for his book "The intricacy of terminology in the new Arab discourse."The award, which was established in memory of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, has been running for three years with nine categories: Literature, Childrens Literature, Translation, YoungAuthor, Fine Arts, Publishing & Distribution, Cultural Personality of the Year, Development of the Country, and Best Technology in Culture. The Award is an independent cultural award established under the patronage and support of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

However, the Childrens Literature Prize was withheld.

"The Children's Literature is a vital foundation in the development of the young generation and we take great responsibility in achieving the awards objectives. The nominated works have not provided the necessary conditions to win the Prize," said Al Oraimi in an earlier statement.

The Award Committee evaluated a total of 621 works across the nine award categories, representing submissions from more than 26 countries.

The award offers a total annual monetary award of AED 7 million ($1,906,000).