Sheikh Zayed Book Award participates in Arab Awards Forum in Saudi Arabia

His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of the King Faisal Prize Board (KFP) was joined by His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, the UAE Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, at the Arab Awards Forum in Riyadh, which took place from 2 - 3 October. His Excellency Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, also attended and contributed towards the event.

Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Sabeel, Secretary General of the King Faisal International Prize, invited trustees and prominent figures who are members of the Arab Awards Forum to take part in the event in Saudi Arabia. HRH Prince Khalid Al Faisal met members of the Forum’s General Assembly and other attendees whilst expressing his continued support for the forum’s work. Additionally, he was delighted to accept the role of Honorary Chairman of the Arab Awards Forum.

Trustees of the Arab Awards Forum convened to discuss several important topics highlighted at the General Assembly including the organisation’s current structure, facilitating conversation between different awarding bodies, activities related to the Forum and cross-cultural work. The meeting also saw the introduction of the Forum’s new online portal. 

On the first day, the Forum featured a cultural seminar titled “Arab Awards: Between Poetry and Narration”, presented by Bahraini poet Ali Abdullah Khalifa, Secretary General of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity. The event also featured Saudi novelist Omaima Al Khamis, Sudanese poet Rawdha Al Haj, and Kuwaiti novelist Taleb Al Rifai, Chairman of the Al Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story.

The Arab Awards Forum held its first meeting at the KFP headquarters in October 2018, which culminated in the approval to establish the entity. The Forum aims to enhance coordination and communication between Arab awards to serve their collective interests, as well as cooperation to develop the academic and cultural fields, and to exchange knowledge between the Arab cultural institutions that offer awards. 

This first meeting also saw the formation of the Forum’s Executive Board, which issued a decision to set up an online portal for Arab awards. It also agreed to work on enhancing the exchange of knowledge and expertise between awards to drive the Arab cultural movement, motivate creative individuals, and work together to improve the standards and frameworks of Arab awards.

Launched in 2006, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is presented every year to outstanding Arab authors, intellectuals, publishers and emerging talent to recognise the writing and translation work which has positively contributed to enriching intellectual, cultural and social life. Presented according to academic and objective criteria, the award, which features nine categories, aims to support creative minds and to provide Arabic writers with new opportunities.