Egyptian media figure Afaf Tabbalah recently won the Sheikh Zayed Children's Literature award.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of presidential affairs in the U.A.E., distributed the fifth round of Sheikh Zayed Book Awards at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Among other honorees: Chinese Arabist Chung Jikon was awarded Cultural Personality of the Year, Abdul Raouf Sinno was awarded Best Contribution to the Development of a Country, Mohammad Miftah from Morocco won the Literature award, and Mohammad Zayed Yihya Kibbeh from Syria won the Translation award.
Rashid al-Irimi, secretary general of the award committee, said that the Sheikh Zayed Book Award contributed to intellectual and cultural development in the Arab world. Al-Irimi said those responsible for the award hope it will help illuminate other areas.
"The renaissance of our Arab nation can only be accomplished by highlighting its past successes and a time when rulers and people alike prioritized knowledge and learning," he said.
Tabbalah said receiving the prize for children's literature represents a new challenge.
According to the prize’s website, the book award is "is presented every year to outstanding Arab writers, intellectuals, publishers as well as young talent whose writings and translations of humanities have scholarly and objectively enriched Arab cultural, literary and social life."
Translated from the Arabic Edition
