Arab World Celebrates Outstanding Cultural Achievements for 2009

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, March 9 /PRNewswire/ — Sheikh Zayed
Book Award, the Arab World’s most prestigious and well-funded prize,
announced Professor Pedro Martinez Montavez of Spain the winner of the
cultural personality of the year prize. Professor Montavez was granted the
prize as a “tribute to his leading role in building bridges between Arab and
Spanish cultures,” said Rashed Al Oraimi, Secretary General of the Award.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090309/340568 )

His portfolio includes more than 20 books in the field of Arabic
literature, the History of Andalusia, Arabic Language and translation. He
translated the works of many legendary Arabic poets including Nizar Qabbani,

The Cultural Personality of the Year winner receives a prize of one
million Dirhams (around 272,242 US$, 215,007 Euros), a gold medal bearing the
Sheikh Zayed Book Award logo, and a certificate of merit.

Winners in the Award’s other categories were also announced, honouring
them for their achievements in fostering cultural development in the Arab
World. Each winner will receive around US$ 204,182 (Euros 161,255).

The winners of 2009 are:

Literature – Jamal Al Ghitani; the Egyptian journalist and Novelist. Many
of his works were translated into French, Swedish, English, Dutch, German,
and Italian, and were studied by many Arab and foreign prominent scholars.

Fine Arts – Dr. Maher Rady; Cinematographer and pillar of the Egyptian
Film Industry.

Translation – Dr. Saad Maslouh; Professor of linguistics in Kuwait
University. He translated many works during his life, including “The
Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences” in 1994 and “Introduction to speech” in
2002 and “Modern Arabic poetry: the influence of Western literature in
1800-1970″ published in 2003.

Best contribution to the development of the country – Dr. Baqer Al
Najjar; Professor of Sociology at the University of Bahrain and one of the
most prominent Arab authors in Sociology.

The Young Author – Dr. Youcef Oglici, Algerian writer and scholar with
numerous published books and articles in literary and poetic critique.

Best Publishing House – The Egyptian-Lebanese house; has more than 750
titles, and collaborates with more than one hundred translators worldwide.

Both Best Technology in the Filed of Culture and Children’s Literature
prizes were withheld for not meeting the standards set by the selection
committees.

This year the award committee reviewed 621 works from 26 countries to
select the nine winners,

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is an independent cultural award established
in memory of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan, who served as the president of the UAE
for more than 30 years. The award is supervised by a Higher Committee and an
Advisory Council that manage a rigorous award selection process.

The winners of 2009 will receive their prizes in a prestigious tribute
ceremony on Wednesday 18 of March 2009 at Emirates Palace.

    For more information please contact:
    Karin Aghadjanian
    Sheikh Zayed Book Award
    karin.a@zayedaward.com
    Tel: +971-508-343-823

SOURCE Sheikh Zayed Book Award