Sharjah24 - WAM: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, has honoured the six winners of the inaugural Kanz Al Jeel (Treasured Sayings) Award at a ceremony held at the Zayed Central Library in Al Ain.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed was accompanied by Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi); Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council; Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi; Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC); Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Director General of the National Library and Archives; and Issa Saif Al Mazrouei, Vice-Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Cultural and Heritage Programs and Festivals Management Committee.

Held under the patronage of H,H, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, the Kanz Al Jeel Award is organised by the ALC, part of DCT Abu Dhabi, to honour outstanding works of research and poetry that have helped enrich Nabati poetry.

Nabati poetry is a vernacular oral tradition unique to the Gulf region and with strong roots in Emirati heritage.

The Kanz Al Jeel Award recognised winners in six categories from a total of 234 submissions from 20 different countries. With a total prize pool of AED 1.5 million, the initiative is part of wider efforts to preserve and promote the Arabic language.

The winners of the Kanz Al Jeel Award 2022 are:

Poetry Matching: Obaid bin Gathlan Al Mazrouei (UAE)
Poetic Publications: Salem Saif Al Khaaldi (UAE)
Arts: Abdelkader Daoudi (Algeria)
Studies and Research: Dr. Ayesha Ali Al Ghais (UAE)
Translation: Dr. Khaled Al-Masri (Jordan/USA)
Creative Personality: Marcel Kurpershoek (Netherlands)