Category: RECORDS IN MIDDLE EAST

U.A.E: Abu Dhabi schoolgirl ‘Amna Al Mansouri’ Crowned ‘UAE Arab Reading Challenge’ Champion

Competition also had a new category this year for disabled pupils.

An Abu Dhabi pupil was crowned the winner of the UAE Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai on Friday.

Emirati schoolgirl Amna Al Mansouri, who read 128 books during the academic year, took top spot ahead of more than 500,000 pupils.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, praised those who took part.

“Today, the UAE celebrated 514,000 students from state schools who participated in the Arab Reading Challenge – whose Arab and international participation reached 24.8 million students,” he said on Twitter.

“I congratulate Amna Mohammed Al Mansouri, and her family, for coming in first place. Amna read 128 books during the academic year.

“Two years ago, Amna lost the ability to walk, but that did not stop her. She soldiered ahead and sailed across the vast ocean of knowledge and literature. The challenge was the beginning of a life-changing experience.

“Today, Amna can walk once again, she has won the Reading Challenge and has authored two stories.

“She will represent the country in a few days at the International Physics Olympiad in Tokyo.”

Amna took the top prize ahead of Mohammed Al Hammadi and Iman Daoud.

The competition had a new category this year for disabled pupils. Emirati pupil, Ghareeb Al Yamahi, won first place, with Ghaya Zainallah coming in second place.

“I also congratulate the student Gharib Al Yamahi who won first place in the reading challenge in the category of people of determination,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Gharib is blind in sight but he is not a stranger in the path of achievement.

“Gharib read 130 books during the academic year in Braille. He is a writer of articles, a speaker and an inspiration to all of us. When a blind person reads 130 books, sighted people should review themselves.

“All the best to Gharib who, with his persistence and willpower, represents the saying that ‘nothing is impossible in the UAE’.”

The ceremony was attended by Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology.

Largest in the world

In May, Sheikh Mohammed  said the annual Arab Reading Challenge  had become the largest event of its kind in the world.

He said 24.8 million pupils from 46 countries had taken part in this year’s competition.

It was launched in 2015 to encourage a million young people to read at least 50 books in a year.

The challenge usually starts at the beginning of the academic year, around September, and continues until the end of the academic year.

The Arab Reading champion is selected based on the pupil’s ability to articulate general knowledge, critical thinking and communication skills, plus the diversity of books they have selected.

A Syrian schoolgirl who survived a deadly missile attack during the civil war in her country was crowned the Arab Reading Challenge Champion in November.

Sham Al Bakour, who was seven when she was named winner, was only six months old when her family’s car was struck during violence in Aleppo in December 2015.

Her father was killed while she and her mother survived the horrific attack.

She completed a remarkable journey from tragedy to triumph to win words of praise from Sheikh Mohammed.

The young literature lover read 70 books to win the competition.

When asked about what she would do with the Dh1 million ($270,000) prize money, she said she would give it to her mother.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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The UAE Arab Reading Challenge prize ceremony was held in Dubai.

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ARAB WORLD / UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

SAUDI ARABIA Auditor Fehr Al-Jefri Becomes the First Arab to Win the William S. Smith Gold Award for Auditing

Fehr Al-Jefri, a member of the Saudi Institute of Internal Auditors, achieved the highest score in the William S. Smith Award for the Certified Internal Auditor program.

He earned the gold medal in a competition against candidates from the Philippines, China, and the US.

Al-Jefri is the first Arab to receive the highest award offered for auditing by the CIA, which consists gold, silver, bronze, and student levels. These awards are determined by individual performance in the core CIA exams.

The International Institute of Internal Auditors recognized and honored Al-Jefri for successfully completing all core exams within a year.

His accomplishment is a testament to the support provided by the Saudi leadership to individuals in various fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

According to the International Institute of Internal Auditors, this recognition signifies the role of Saudi Arabia in supporting the internal auditing profession and its practitioners. It highlights the “efforts made to help them overcome challenges, succeed in their professional work, and enhance work mechanisms.”

Abdullah Saleh Al-Shebeili, the CEO of the Saudi Institution of Internal Auditors, affirmed that the country’s achievements persist due to the steadfast support of the leadership toward the overall control system and, specifically, the internal audit profession. Al-Jafri’s victory serves as undeniable evidence of this sustained support.

Al-Jefri expressed his pride in receiving the award, considering it not only a personal accomplishment but recognition for his nation.

He also praised the role played by the Saudi Institution of Internal Auditors in bolstering the profession and advancing its practices.

Al-Jefri highlighted the institution’s efforts in organizing courses and seminars aimed at enhancing efficiency, improving performance quality, and strengthening oversight.

He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the institution for providing him with the necessary resources and support to achieve success. He emphasized that obtaining the CIA certificate signifies a high level of excellence in the profession and creates numerous opportunities for career advancement.

The William S. Smith Award, launched in 2010, catalyzes the advancement of the CIA program. It showcases participants’ commitment to addressing evolving challenges and equipping professionals with the necessary experience, credibility, knowledge, and competence to excel in the field and make a difference in various domains.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Fehr Al-Jefri, a member of the Saudi Institution of Internal Auditors, and the first Arab to receive the Gold William Smith Award for the CIA. (SPA)

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SAUDI ARABIA

SYRIAN-AMERICANS: Refugee-Powered ‘NaTakallam’ Launches Professional Arabic Language Courses

  • New course offers four tracks specific to journalism, humanitarian work, health care and business
  • “Arabic for Professionals” carricula are proofed by Arabic academics from top universities

Six Syrian refugees in the US have crafted the “Arabic for Professionals” course launched on Wednesday by NaTakallam, a refugee-powered social enterprise that provides language learning, translation and interpretation services.

The course’s contents have been proofed by Arabic academics from top universities, such as the American University of Paris, according to a press release by NaTakallam.

Tailored for upper-intermediate and advanced Arabic students, “Arabic for Professionals” offers four tracks specific to journalism, humanitarian work, health care and business.

“The program is the outcome of conversations about common teaching challenges among NaTakallam language partners, especially when it comes to Arabic in practice,” said Carmela Francolino, NaTakallam’s talent and community manager.

“After defining the general profiles of our students and their needs, the necessity of structured courses for intermediate and advanced students was clear, as were the topics we needed to focus on,” she said.

Combining synchronous and asynchronous learning, “Arabic for Professionals” provides flexibility to fit busy schedules. The curricula are divided into several units, including exercises to reinforce each point and ten one-hour private lessons with an experienced tutor.

In addition to a focus on Modern Standard Arabic, a lingua franca used across the Arabic-speaking world, the one-on-one tutoring sessions offer students the opportunity to practice what they have learned in spoken dialects of Levantine Arabic.

Multiple pilot students have noted that the blended structure of the course provided an impetus for them to continue learning the language after their progress had stalled.

“For NaTakallam, whose core mission is to showcase the talents of displaced and conflict-affected people, it is especially meaningful that our language partners are not only teaching this curriculum but have created it in its entirety,” said Aline Sara, co-founder and CEO of NaTakallam.

Besides the new Arabic for Professionals program, NaTakallam offers an Integrated Arabic Curriculum, a 25-hour course that teaches Modern Standard Arabic and Levantine Arabic concomitantly, as well as one-on-one language tutoring in Arabic, Armenian, French, Kurdish, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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SYRIAN / AMERICANS

ARABS IN NEW YORK, USA: Tour guide dubs Little Syria ‘the best-kept secret in New York history’

Longtime scholar Linda Jacobs calls it “the best-kept secret in New York history.” She is talking about New York City’s forgotten Syrian enclave of immigrants (often referred to as Little Syria) that once thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, forming the first Arab-speaking community in the US.

As part of an initiative supported by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Jacobs led in-person walking tours on Washington Street, the main hub of Little Syria, this summer. For Jacobs, it is a story that hits close to home.

Just-landed Middle Eastern immigrants at Ellis Island, ca. 1905. (Supplied)

All four of her grandparents emmigrated from modern-day Lebanon in the late 1800s, moving to Washington Street. “I was just interested in doing my family genealogy, and more importantly, for me, understanding if the myths or stories we were told as children in our family matched the reality … Some made it, some didn’t,” she told Arab News.

Aside from the presence of Arabs, Washington Street was home to other nationalities, including German and Irish families. It was an economic and cultural center, full of stores, cafes, and factories. It was not a bed of roses, though, according to Jacobs.

Built on landfill, Washington Street suffered from poor living conditions and a lack of clean air. Because the area was located near the tidal Hudson River, water would come up through the basements of tenement buildings.

60-62 Washington Street, where dozens of Syrian-owned businesses were located, 1903. (Supplied)

To make matters worse, the rate of infant mortality, due to tuberculosis, was high. “It makes you cry, it’s really sad,” said Jacobs. “You can imagine that people did not want to remember this time of their lives, and I think that’s why my grandmother never talked about it. She never mentioned the word(s) ‘Washington Street’.”

A majority of the people referred to as Syrians who came to New York City most likely hailed from Lebanon, seeking better economic opportunities. Those who initially arrived were farmers and laborers, later followed by wealthier classes. The lucrative trade of peddling was a common profession amongst Syrians, who saved up money to open their own businesses and relocate to safer boroughs, such as Brooklyn.

By the 1940s, the Syrian community was non-existent on the street. The physical neighborhood was destroyed, making way for building the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. Today, Washington Street is a neglected area, where only three buildings, including the facade of St. George’s Melkite Church of the Syrian Community, have survived, but most lack landmark status granted by the city.

Conducting such walking tours around the area is important for Jacobs. “All were surprised because no one had any idea that this community existed,” she remarked. “It’s a mixed blessing, because in a way, it’s a real lesson to others to try and save their communities from total destruction. And on the other side, it’s very sad to have it all be gone.”

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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New York City’s forgotten Syrian enclave of immigrants (often referred to as Little Syria) thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Supplied)

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ARABS IN USA

EGYPT: Yasmine Sabri Becomes Egyptian Cinema’s First Female Superhero

Dalila’ will join ‘Mousa’ as part of director Peter Mimi’s action-packed cinematic universe, ‘The Underdogs’.

Actress Yasmine Sabri is suiting up as Egyptian cinema’s first female superhero!

Peter Mimi – the director of famed Ramadan series ‘Al Ikhtiyar’ (The Choice) – is expanding on the superhero cinematic universe he created for his 2021 action film ‘Mousa’ starring Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz and Eyad Nasser, in which a shy engineering student creates a powerful robot to avenge his father.

Joining ‘Mousa’ as part of Mimi’s ‘The Underdogs’ franchise will be ‘Dalila’, where Yasmine Sabri will star as a badass motorcyclist on a mission for justice. Filming for ‘Dalila’ has already begun, with Sabri currently undergoing intense physical training and motorcycle training to prepare for the film’s intense action sequences (which, if ‘Mousa’ was anything to go by, will be absolutely explosive). The Avengers who?

While Sabri is working on her super stunts, the actress has already wrapped up filming for ‘Bo’ Bo’ starring Ami Karar and ‘Abou Nasab’ starring Mohamed Emam, both of which will come out during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

‘Dalila’ is set to hit movie theatres in 2023, although details on the rest of the cast has yet to be announced.

source/content: cairoscene.com (headline edited)

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EGYPT

EGYPT: Prominent Egyptian Gynaecologist and Author Abul-Ghar Wins ‘Nile Award in Science & Advanced Technological Sciences’

Prominent Egyptian gynaecologist and author Mohamed Abul-Ghar won on Sunday the State Nile Award in Science and Advanced Technological Sciences.

Minister of Higher Education and Head of the Scientific Research and Technology Academy Mohamed Ashour announced that Cairo University’s Professor at the Faculty of Medicine Dr Mohamed Abul-Ghar and Mansoura University’s professor at the Faculty of Medicine Dr Hassan Abul-Enein won the State Nile Award in Science and Advanced Technological Sciences.

“It is the state’s recognition of scientists’ efforts in advancing the nation and building the new republic and knowledge economy,” Ashour said on Sunday in a press conference at the New Administrative Capital.

Abul-Ghar started, with a group of medical doctors, Egypt’s first-ever centre for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Abul-Ghar, 82, received the Egyptian National Award for Scientific Excellence in 1999. He also received honourary membership of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in 2004 and honourary membership in the International Federation of Fertility Societies in 2000. 

Abul-Ghar has also been active politically as he established, with other university professors, the 9 March Movement for the Independence of Universities during the rule of the late President Mubarak. He was also among the spokespersons of the National Association of Change.

Following the ouster of Mubarak in February 2011, Abul-Ghar was among the founders of the left-liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party.

Aside from his medical scientific career and political activism, the prominent gynaecologist established himself in recent years as a bestselling non-fiction author with a special interest in the modern history of Egypt, specifically the pre-1952 liberal era.

Among his bestselling books are Egyptian Jews in the 20th Century, The Egyptian Legion and The Pandemic that Killed 180,000 Egyptians. 

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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File Photo: Mohamed Abuol-Ghar. / Al-Ahram

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EGYPT

SHARJAH, UAE / LEBANON / TUNISIAN-FRENCH: 19th ‘UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture’ Honours Winners Kassem Istanbouli and Hajer Ben Boubaker in Paris

Kassem Istanbouli, Lebanese actor-director, and Hajer Ben Boubaker, French researcher and sound director, were awarded the 19th UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture at an award ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 26th June 2023.


The event, organised by the Sharjah Department of Culture in collaboration with UNESCO, celebrated the achievements of two winners.


The ceremony was attended by Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Culture; Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO; Mohammed Ibrahim Al Qasir, Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs in Sharjah; Ahmed Al Mulla, Deputy Ambassador of the UAE to France, and Aisha Al Kamali, Representative of the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of the UAE in France, along with dignitaries, writers, intellectuals and accredited diplomats to the United Nations (UN).


Al Owais and Ramirez presented the 19th edition of the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture to Istanbouli, winner of the Arab Personality Award, and Ben Boubaker, winner of the Non-Arab Personality Award.

The UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture recognizes recipients’ outstanding artistic achievements celebrating Arab art and culture globally. Core to UNESCO’s anti-racism and anti-discrimination agenda, the Prize promotes peace and dialogue to foster intercultural understanding and celebrate diversity.

For this 19th edition of the Prize, the international jury recognized Mr Istanbouli and Ms Ben Boubaker’s extraordinary contributions to promoting the arts and Arab culture and supporting their local communities.

Kassem Istanbouli is a Lebanese actor and director. Since 2014, he has led the rehabilitation of historical cinemas in Lebanon, including Stars Cinema in Nabatieh, and Al-Hamra and Rivoli in Tyre, abandoned or destroyed during civil war.

Mr Istanbouli is involved with several international projects focused on skills enhancement, youth empowerment and collaborative partnerships. In 2020 he co-founded the Arab Culture and Arts Network (ACAN) to design and implement online cultural activities across the Arab region. The Network includes over 700 organizational and individual members from across the world.

Mr Istanbouli is also director and founder of the Lebanese National Theater in Tyre and the Lebanese National Theater in Tripoli and has been a project manager at the Tiro Association for Arts in Lebanon since 2014.

Hajer Ben Boubaker is a French-Tunisian independent researcher and sound director. Her research focuses on a socio-historical analysis of Arab music and the cultural history of the Maghreb community in France and around the world.

In 2018, she created and self-produced the Vintage Arab podcast, which explores Arabic musical heritage. At the intersection of research and art, the podcast allows her to keep a foot in each sphere.

Ms Ben Boubaker is a producer and documentary director for France Culture, where her work questions the sound and political memory of immigration. As a researcher, she is associated with the Arab and Oriental music collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and continues to write for scientific journals, including “Paris, capitale maghrébine: une histoire Populaire” in October 2023.

Created in 1998 and run by UNESCO at the initiative of the United Arab Emirates, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize awards two laureates per year — individuals, groups or institutions — in recognition of their contribution to Arab art and culture, or for participating in the dissemination of the latter outside the Arab world.

The initiative contributes towards the Organization’s objective of fostering inclusive, resilient and peaceful societies. The Prize carries a monetary value of USD 60,000, which is equally divided between the two laureates.

source/content: wam.ae (headline edited)

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SHARJAH, UAE / LEBANON / TUNISIAN-FRENCH

QATARI Dairy Company ‘Raw’a’ Wins Fine Taste Award for 2023, Brussels, Belgium

Gulf Food Production Company “Raw’a“, one of the leading companies in the State of Qatar in dairy production, won the Fine Taste Award for the year 2023, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of food and beverage industry worldwide, presented by the International Taste Company Institute in Brussels, Belgium. The evaluation was conducted by a committee of more than 200 international chefs with 86 Michelin Stars awarded to the finest chefs and restaurants around the world after competing with more than 120 international products.

136 hours of blind tasting

Rawa is the first Qatari dairy company to receive the award for good taste, after it was subjected to an organoleptic assessment that includes the visual, aromatic, flavour and textural aspects, in addition to the final mouth texture. The evaluation process took place over 136 hours of blind tasting conducted on hundreds of products from around the world, with the aim of selecting the best among them.

Award-winning product

The award-winning product is yogurt consisting of four grains and fruits containing (wheat – barley – oats – rye – apple fruit – coconut fruit). It is a healthy choice full of wholesome fruits and grains . It is the consumer’s first choice in market’s and best seller.

Mr. Mohammad Ali Al-Kuwari CEO of Raw’a, stated that Gulf food Co. pursues a strict strategy related to the quality and safety of its products and revolves around adopting several practices in its factories, including, for example, the activation of several internal audits on dairy products. In addition, the quality of these products is periodically tested.

The company is always keen to perform the above in order to ensure the safety of its products and their compliance with the highest standards of quality and taste before they reach the consumer.

It also pays great attention to developing its products with the support of a specialized research and development team to ensure that the company is compatible with the latest technologies that guarantee quality and taste while maintaining the characteristics that Qatari consumer is accustomed to in our range of products.

Source and cover image credit: Press Release

source/content: iloveqatar.net (headline edited)

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QATAR

TUNISIA: The 23rd ‘Arab Radio and TV Festival’ kicks off in Tunis

The 23rd Arab Radio and TV Festival kicked off on Monday in Tunis under the slogan of “Celebrating Arts and Culture.”

The opening ceremony was hosted on Monday at the City of Culture under the theme: “Arab Perfumes,” and the closing ceremony will be broadcast live by the various Arab TV channels and radio stations.

The official ceremony was attended by several Arab senior officials, including diplomats, professionals from the festival’s media partners and featured artists.

The official guests included President of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) Mohammed bin Fahd Al-Harthi, ASBU Director General Abdelrahim Suleiman, Cultural Affairs Minister Hayet Ketat Guermasi and Syrian Minister of Information Butros al-Hallaq.

A tribute was paid to Egyptian actress Sherine, Lebanese filmmaker Georges Ghabbaz, Emirati actress Fatma Houssani, Libyan filmmaker Hassan Garfel, Moroccan filmmaker Sanaa Akroud, Syrian actor Milad Youssef and actress Rawaa Saadi.

The festival further paid tribute to leading figures from the Arab audiovisual landscape, including former chairman and CEO of the Tunisian radio and television broadcasting corporation (ERTT) Abdel Aziz Kacem, Tunisian actor Moncef Baldi, former Director of Egyptian Radio Iness Jawhar, former ASBU Director of the Administrative and Legal Committee Hani Farraj, Bahraini filmmaker Ines Yacoub and Taki Eddine Soubira from Comoros.

The awards of the 14th edition of the Arab Music and Song Contest were handed over during the ceremony, which was held at the ASBU headquarters in Tunis last May.

The Tunisian Radio won the 2nd award (US$ 3 thousand) in the musical works section for a composition entitled “Tamiarat” by Mohsen Matri. 

The winning works were selected by a jury made up of musician Mona Chtorou (Tunisia), artisit Mona Abelghani (Egypt), artist Dhia Eddine Jebbar Faraj (Iraq), academic Achour Fanni (Algeria) and poet Hédi Daniel (Syria).

source/content: tap.info.tn (headline edited)

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TUNISIA



U.A.E / EGYPT: UAE’s Masdar to Build ‘World’s Largest Wind Farm’ in Egypt at $10B

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli attended Tuesday evening the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) to allocate a land plot for the establishment of a $10-billion wind farm whose capacity will be 10 gigawatts, making it the world’s largest.

Masdar will operate within a consortium that includes Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities. The project is estimated to save $5 billion in natural gas costs per annum, and reduce carbon emissions by 23.8 million tons, which is nine percent of Egypt’s annual emissions.

The farm will produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy every year contributing in Egyptian efforts aimed at making the share of renewables in the energy mix 42 percent by 2035.  

The initial agreement was signed on the sidelines of COP 27 held in Sharm El Sheikh in November, so as the signing was attended by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed.  

source/content: egypttoday.com (headline edited)

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E) / EGYPT