Nahyan bin Mubarak approves the names of the winners of the “Khalifa Educational Award”

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa Educational Award, one of the institutions of the Zayed Humanitarian Legacy Foundation, approved the names of the winners in the nineteenth session of the award in 2026, numbering 40 male and female winners at the local, Arab and international levels. Her Highness Sheikha Maryam bint Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the Education and Human Resources Council, was chosen as the legal educational personality for the current session in recognition of her outstanding contributions and creative vision in developing the education system and anticipating its future in light of the scientific and technical developments witnessed by the era. Her Highness was keen to empower the Emirati education system in its various stages in order to prepare the elements of the educational process to translate the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God preserve him. God, in building generations qualified to keep pace with the times and equipped with the best scientific and applied methods for creativity, innovation, leadership and serving national development.

The list of winners included 25 male and female winners from within the country, including 4 Emirati families who won the Distinguished Emirati Family Award that made outstanding contributions to the upbringing and education of their children and pushing them to platforms of excellence, in addition to 11 male and female winners at the level of the Arab world and 4 winners in the field of the Khalifa International Award for Early Education, which is considered the first specialized award in this field in the world.

The General Secretariat of the Award will hold a celebration on May 13 to honor the winners at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, in the capital, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of a number of educational and academic leaders from inside and outside the country.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said that the Khalifa Educational Award continues its pioneering path, inspired by the legacy of the late founding leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, who established a unique civilizational model in human building and education, based on consolidating national identity and promoting authentic values, in addition to conscious openness to the data of the age, its sciences and its renewed knowledge.

He explained that this integrated approach embodies a deep strategic vision, which made education an essential pillar in the comprehensive development process, and a major axis in preparing generations capable of creativity, innovation, and effective contribution to the nation’s progress.

He stressed that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, continues to consolidate and strengthen this ambitious development path, by adopting advanced educational policies and national strategies that anticipate the future and keep pace with the rapid transformations in various sectors, adding that this wise leadership vision has contributed to the development of an integrated educational system, concerned with empowering future generations and providing them with advanced knowledge and skills, allowing them to interact positively with modern technologies and actively participate in relevant fields. A national priority, in a way that enhances the UAE’s competitiveness and its leadership position on the international scene.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan also appreciated the directives of His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office for Development Affairs and Families of Martyrs, Chairman of the International Humanitarian Affairs Council, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Humanitarian Legacy Foundation, stressing that His Highness’s continued support reflects the leadership’s keenness to advance the educational sector and establish a culture of excellence and innovation in its various components.

He stressed that the Khalifa Educational Award is moving forward, in light of this support, to strengthen its position at the forefront of awards specialized in supporting education, and spreading the culture of excellence at the local, Arab and international levels, in a way that contributes to creating a qualitative and sustainable impact in developing education and achieving comprehensive national development goals.

For his part, Humaid Al-Hooti, ​​Secretary-General of the Khalifa Educational Award, affirmed the support of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa Educational Award, for the award’s progress and His Excellency’s keenness to keep pace with the best scientific and applied practices in educational excellence.

He explained that the current session witnessed a large turnout from candidates from 52 countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Argentina, Egypt, Morocco, Hungary, Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Canada, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Tanzania, which reflects the growing international standing of the award and global confidence in its mission to support… Excellence and innovation in education.

Al-Hooti explained that the award includes ten main areas in its current session, namely educational legal personality, general education, education and community service, people of determination, creativity in teaching the Arabic language, higher education, educational research, educational writing for children, innovative educational projects and programs, and the field of the Khalifa International Award for Early Education, which includes the category of research and studies, and the category of programmes, curricula, methodologies and teaching methods, which is divided into 17 sub-categories.

Al-Hooti congratulated the winners of the current session for joining the Excellence Ambassadors of the Khalifa Educational Award since its inception in 2007, to contribute to the development and modernization of the education system at all local, Arab and international levels, and to make a positive humanitarian impact in the field, each in his specialty, field, and category in which he won, which translates the message and objectives of the award as a national initiative launched by the United Arab Emirates that spreads excellence and quality of education throughout the world.

He also congratulated the four winning Emirati families in the current session, whose victory coincides with the country’s celebration of the Year of the Family 2026, which reflects the vital role of the family in establishing societal cohesion and supporting the children’s journey in learning and acquiring knowledge, values ​​and authentic Emirati traditions that refine the children’s personalities and strengthen their national identity and family cohesion, given that the family is the pillar of society and that its role will remain a basis in building generations.

The list of winners at the local level from within the UAE in the field of general education “Creative Teacher Category” also included Amal Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ajarma, majoring in chemistry from Al Nahda National Schools – Abu Dhabi, Amal Muhammad Shukri Abu Bakr, majoring in biology from the Institute of Applied Technology – Ajman, Kholoud Rashid Khalfan Al-Lailili, majoring in early childhood from Zayed Educational Complex – Fujairah, Sindia Ahmed Rashid Al-Hassani, majoring in information technology from Zayed Educational Complex – Al-Bidiya, and Soha. Wael Mustafa Shashaa, mathematics major from Ruqaya School – Sharjah, Sheikha Ali Mohammed Al Zeyoudi, computer major from Dibba Al Fujairah School, Dr. Laila Ahmed Mohammed, kindergarten major from Al Nahda Kindergarten – Abu Dhabi, and Naima Mohammed Jassim Al Nuaimi, mathematics major from Zayed Educational Complex – Awafi.

In the field of general education – institutional educational performance category, the winners were: Zayed Educational Complex – First and Second Cycle – Fujairah, represented by team leader Aisha Ali Khamas Al Dhahouri, Al Huwaytain School – Abu Dhabi – Al Dhafra, represented by team leader Fawqiya Mustafa Ramadan Hilal, and Kalba Kindergarten – Sharjah, represented by team leader Amna Rashid Muhammad Al Abdouli.

In the field of People of Determination – Individuals Category, Saleha Ali Mohammed Al Zeyoudi, from Al Rayyan School – First Cycle, won, and in the field of Education and Community Service – Institutions Category, the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police won for the project “Tomorrow’s Police Heroes Program”, represented by Team Leader Hussein Ali Hamad Al Junaibi.

In the field of education and community service – the distinguished Emirati family category, the family of Ahmed Ali Mubarak Al Kindi, from Sharjah – Kalba, the family of Ahmed Mubarak Obaid Al Zahmi, from Fujairah, the family of Saleh Saeed Salem Saeed, from Ajman, and the family of Hilal Ali Khalifa Al Hanai, from Abu Dhabi – Al Ain, won.

In the field of creativity in teaching the Arabic language at the UAE level, Aisha Ahmed Abdullah Al Dhanhani, from the Zayed Educational Complex – Fujairah, won. Dr. Ali Abdul Qadir Mohammed Al Hammadi, from the Police College – Abu Dhabi, and Dr. Aisha Juma Abdullah Al Shamsi, from the Mohammed bin Zayed University for the Humanities, won in the Distinguished University Professor category.

In the field of higher education at the level of the United Arab Emirates – the Distinguished University Professor category, Dr. Amina Saad Sultan Al-Sumaiti, from Khalifa University, Professor Hatem Hussein Majdi Zein Al-Din, from Khalifa University, and Professor Yasser Al-Hanafi Muhammad Jarish, from the United Arab Emirates University, won.

In the field of innovative educational projects and programs at the level of the United Arab Emirates – individuals, Hibatullah Sayed Rabie Muhammad, from the Zayed Authority for People of Determination, won for the project “A Deaf-Friendly Digital Educational Platform ASLdeaf.”

The list of winners at the level of the Arab world, in the field of general education – the creative teacher category, also included Farah Jassim Muhammad Al-Khawaja, majoring in English from the State of Kuwait, Zainab Saeed Salman Al-Jamri, majoring in Arabic Language and Literature from the Kingdom of Bahrain, Abdulaziz Abdullah Nassar Al-Hazmi, majoring in mathematics from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Maryam Nasser Abdullah Hebrew, majoring in mathematics and science from the Sultanate of Oman, and Aisha Saleh Al-Mutawa. Al Kuwari, majoring in Arts and Education from the State of Qatar, Reem Hassan Saleh Dahnous, majoring in Biology from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Yaman Muhammad Hussein Kashto, majoring in Arabic Language from the State of Qatar.

In the field of creativity in teaching the Arabic language – the Distinguished University Professor category, Dr. Kholoud Saleh Othman Al-Saleh, from King Abdulaziz University – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, won, and in the field of higher education – the Distinguished University Professor category, Professor Shaher Muhammad Ahmed Momni, from the University of Jordan – The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, won.

He won in the field of educational research at the level of the Arab world, the research “The effectiveness of performance in school evaluation results in light of the school accreditation (ETEC) evaluation standards from the Education and Training Evaluation Commission and the national standards in schools in the Jazan region” by Issam Yahya Abdel-Bari Brik, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In the field of educational writing for children – the category of educational innovations, Maryam Ali Mansour Al-Mahdoub, from the Kingdom of Bahrain, won for her work “When the World Becomes Rubber – a novel.” The list of winners at the global level in the field of the Khalifa International Award for Early Education – the category of programmes, curricula, methodologies and teaching methods, also included the Abbreviated Measure of Early Childhood Quality Program – Together in Practice (BEQI TIP), by Rebecca Sayre Mujani, from the United States of America, represented by the Center for Early Childhood Development Measurement, And the Saber Education Foundation from the United Kingdom, represented by Susan Bliss Everhart, and in the research and studies category, a research titled “Making the Most of What Is Existing: Expanding Early Childhood Development through Public Infrastructure” by Dr. Abu Saeed Muhammad Parvis Shunshoi, from the United States of America, and a research titled “A Research Study to Guide Large-Scale Quality Improvement in Early Childhood Development Interventions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” by Dr. Florencia Clara Alobispo, from the United States of America.