May 11, 2016

Mohammed bin Rashid honours winners of the Arab Journalism Award

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum honoured the winners of the 15th edition of the Arab Journalism Award at a ceremony held at the conclusion of the Arab Media Forum (AMF) 2016. Deputy Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also attended the Award ceremony that took place today, Wednesday, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Other attendees at the event included Minister for Cabinet Affairs His Excellency Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi; Minister of State for Happiness Her Excellency Ohood Al Roumi; and Secretary-General of the Arab Journalism Award and Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the AMF Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri; apart from a large number of senior government officials and Arab journalists.

A total of 15 winners representing daily newspapers, magazines, online web portals and media organisations from the Arab world and beyond were honoured at the Award ceremony. The winners were chosen from more than 5,500 nominations.

The award ceremony started with a short video about the late Khalfan Al Roumi, former Chairman of the Board of the Arab Journalism Award and one of the major personalities in the UAE’s cultural, educational and media landscape. This was followed by a short film about the ‘Arab Journalism Award’ that highlighted key events in the Arab media industry in the recent past.

Iraqi artist Kadhim Al Sahir performed a song inspired by the poems of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid entitled ‘Hope’.

Media Personality of the Year Award
Sheikh Mohammed presented the Media Personality of the Year Award to Abdulrahman Al Rashed, former General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel, in recognition of his contributions to Arab media and his long and distinguished career.

Best Newspaper Column Award
His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed presented the Best Newspaper Column Award to the Lebanese writer and critic Ibrahim Al Ariss. Al Ariss founded two monthly magazines: ‘Al Masira’ and ‘Al Maqasid’ and previously headed the cultural section of ‘Assafir’ newspaper in Beirut and ‘Al Youm Sabia’ in Paris. He has published several books on a range of subjects including cinema, criticism, philosophy and economy.

Other categories
Moroccan web portal Hespress won the Smart Journalism Award, a category that saw stiff competition. The Deputy Ruler of Dubai also presented the Award to the winner in this category.

The winners in other categories of the Arab Journalism Award included:
Humanitarian Journalism Award: Naima Al Sridi of Al Maghrib Al Youm magazine (Morocco).

Specialised Journalism Award : Al Khaleej newspaper team (UAE)

Sports Journalism Award: Redha Salim, Al Ittihad newspaper (UAE)

Cultural Journalism Award: Mustapha Abbada, Al Ahram Al Arabi magazine (Egypt).

Investigative Reporting Award: Houda Zakaria and Mohammed Al Mindarawi of ‘Youm 7’ newspaper (Egypt).

Economic Journalism Award: Ossama Jalal, Kuwait News Agency (Kuwait).

Political Journalism Award: Dr. Abdullah Al Madani, Al Ittihad newspaper (UAE).

Press Interviews Journalism Award: Faisal bin Saeed Al Alwi, Al Watan newspaper (Oman).

Photo Journalism Award: Mohammed Ali Turkman, Reuters (Palestine).

Outstanding Cartoonist Award: Mouafeq Rushdi Gat, Sky News Arabia.

Young Journalist Award: Ayat Al Habal, Masri Al-Youm (Egypt); Abeer Essa, Kul Al Usra (UAE) and Halima Abrouk, Akhbar Al Youm (Morocco.