Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation (ZayedCHF), and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, has honoured the winners of the 17th Sheikh Zayed Book Award in a ceremony held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
In attendance were His Excellency Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi; His Excellency Awaidha Al Marar, Chairman of the Department of Energy – Abu Dhabi; His Excellency Dr Mugheer Al Khalili, Chairman of the Department of Community Development; His Excellency Mansour Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi; His Excellency Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to the President of the UAE and Chancellor of UAE University; His Excellency Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary at the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi; His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Shiekh Zayed Book Award and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre; His Excellency Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Director General of the National Library and Archives; His Excellency Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council; His Excellency Saeed Ali Obaid Al Fazari, Strategic Affairs Executive Director of Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi; His Excellency Adnan Mohammed Al Awadi, Support Services Executive Director of Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi; His Excellency Nasser Mohammed Al Mansouri, Undersecretary of the Ruler’s Representative Court in Al Dhafra Region; His Excellency Major General Thani Butti Al Shamsi, Director of Saif Bin Zayed Academy for Police and Security Sciences; and His Excellency Major General Salem Saeed Al Shamsi, Commander of the National Defence College.
Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, the 2023 edition of the award received the highest number of submissions to date; 3,151 from 60 countries including 22 Arab nations and 38 countries from around the world.
His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented trophies to winners in the following categories: Literature - Ali Jaafar Alallaq from Iraq; Arab Culture in Other Languages - Mathieu Tillier from France; Young Author - Said Khatibi from Algeria; Translation - Chokri Al Saadi from Tunisia; Art and Literary Criticism - Dr. Jalila Al Tritar from Tunisia and Publishing and Technology - Dar ElAin Publishing from Egypt.
In addition, His Highness honoured the renowned Egyptian musician Omar Khairat, who received the Cultural Personality of the Year award in recognition of his contribution to shaping the collective cultural consciousness of the Arab region.
Established in 2006, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award honours intellectuals, researchers and authors who have made significant contributions to modern-day literature, social sciences, culture and knowledge.
