"Sheikh Zayed Book Award" ..Two decades of creativity and knowledge

Abu Dhabi, May 25 / WAM / Since its inception in 2006, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award has established itself as one of the most prominent literary and cultural awards in the Arab world, and a global knowledge platform that reflects the UAE’s vision of making culture a fundamental pillar of sustainable development, and a bridge for dialogue between peoples and civilizations.

With the passage of two decades since its establishment, the award continues its journey as an integrated cultural project that has gone beyond the limits of honoring to creating an extended cognitive and humanitarian impact on the international scene.

The award bore the name of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, as an embodiment of his approach based on supporting science, knowledge, and cultural openness.

Over the course of twenty years, it has transformed from a national initiative to celebrate creative people into one of the most important international awards in terms of value and impact, and has contributed to highlighting the civilized face of Arab culture and enhancing its presence in the global cultural scene.

During its course, the award attracted more than 33,000 entries from about 80 countries, and honored winners from writers, thinkers, researchers, and cultural institutions around the world, within ten branches covering multiple areas of knowledge and creativity, including literature, translation, children’s and youth literature, young authors, arts and critical studies, development and state building, Arab culture in other languages, manuscript editing, publishing, and cultural technologies, in addition to the “Cultural Personality of the Year” award.

Over its successive sessions, the award has witnessed rapid growth in the volume of entries and cultural influence. Since the first session, which recorded 1,220 nominations, the award has continued to expand to receive, in its twentieth session, a wide participation of more than 4,000 nominations from 74 countries, which confirms its growing role in supporting creativity, consolidating the presence of Arabic literature in global culture, and enhancing the soft power of the UAE on the cultural and cognitive levels.

The impact of the award was not limited to honoring creators, but extended to supporting the translation, publishing and scientific research movement, as it launched in 2018 the “Translation Grant” which aims to issue dozens of translations into 12 international languages, giving the winning and nominated Arabic works the opportunity to reach new readers around the world, and confirming the UAE’s pioneering role in promoting cultural dialogue and internationalizing knowledge.

The award contributed to consolidating the presence of women in the cultural scene, through an increase in the participation rates of female writers and researchers, and the wins of prominent female names in multiple branches, in addition to the participation of female academics and intellectuals in arbitration committees and scientific bodies, which reflects the award’s commitment to diversity, openness, and supporting creative energies.

At the international level, the award organized more than 200 cultural and intellectual events in international capitals and cities, including Paris, London, Madrid, Frankfurt, New York, Tokyo, and New Delhi, in cooperation with international universities, research centers, and publishing houses, as part of its efforts to build bridges of cultural communication and enhance the global presence of Arab culture.

The year 2026 will witness a busy international program celebrating the two decades since the founding of the award, which includes a series of cultural and academic events and programs that showcase its cognitive legacy and its influence in supporting literature, thought and translation at the Arab and international levels, confirming the continuation of its mission to empower creativity and enhance the presence of Arab culture in the contemporary human scene.

In this context, the award, affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language, organized an academic conference in Italy during the period from May 11 to 15, in cooperation with three prestigious Italian universities: Alma Mater Studiorum, Ca’ Foscari University, and L’Orientale University.

The conference was titled “Authenticity, Authoritarianism, and Mediation: From Classical Translation to Contemporary Literary Cultures and Digital Humanities,” with each university hosting an independent version of its activities, with the participation of academics and researchers specializing in literary studies, translation, and digital humanities.

The conference highlighted the traditions of classical translation and their rereading in light of contemporary transformations linked to technology, modern forms of linguistic expression, and digital publishing, with a focus on the paths of transmission of Greek and Latin works to the Italian humanist movement via the Arabic language, which reflects the historical role of Arab civilization in transmitting knowledge and creating cultural interaction between the East and the West.

Over two decades, the award has adopted a precise judging system based on well-established standards based on originality of work, depth of intellectual and creative processing, quality of language and construction, and commitment to the principles of research and documentation, ensuring the highest levels of integrity, transparency and professionalism in selecting the winning works.

Today, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is entering its third decade, building on a solid cultural heritage and a pioneering knowledge experience, continuing its mission of empowering creators and researchers, and enhancing the presence of the Arabic language and culture globally.

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