Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding has organised an event titled (A Decade of Achievement) in cooperation with the Qatar Press Center (QPC). HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al Kuwari, Minister of State and President of Qatar National Library, gave a speech titled “Ten Years of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding. Translation is the Compass of Civilizational Appeal.” The event was attended by Saad bin Mohammed al Rumaihi, Chairman of the QPC, and a number of academics and media professionals. It was moderated by Dr Hanan al Fayadh, the award’s media advisor. HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al Kuwari said: What we are experiencing today, ten years after the establishment of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation, is a renewed event for the activity of Arab thought as it interacts with the human balance of knowledge through translation.
He pointed out that the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding is a victory for the Arab personality, which has not despaired of dialogue with other cultures and has not been stingy in building bridges of communication.
Al Kuwari stressed that continuing this great project is one of the most prominent manifestations of the dynamism of the contemporary Arab personality, and one of the factors of its renewal, especially since it makes the Arabic language a language of dialogue with the languages of the world.
He added: This award comes at the forefront of the Arab cultural project, far from the state of crisis experienced by a part of the Arab cultural elite. He said: The award has expanded the circle of languages from and to which it is translated, as new languages are added in each session to the list of languages approved for translation until the award covered 37 languages around the world within ten years, which expands the scope of cultural interaction. Pointing out that one of the advantages of translation is saving human culture from loss, fading, burning, destruction, marginalization and exclusion, as it is a continuous preservation, rather like a memory that stands firm in the face of time and advocates of intellectual isolation. Translation has preserved the creativity that peoples have contributed to in thought, art and science.
His Excellency praised the efforts of translators, so the award seeks to honour them and appreciate their role in acquaintance between peoples, transferring knowledge between civilizations, and extending channels of communication between nations. Stressing that the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding has restored the translator's honourable status and provided him with a creative environment that motivates him to contribute to this civilizational project.
His Excellency pointed out the award's interaction with the Cultural Years Initiative and soft diplomacy in general in order to enhance cultural understanding and rapprochement between peoples. This interaction confirms the award's ability to be a soft power for Qatar, saying: "I am very happy and I dream, like other Arab intellectuals, of restoring the glory of our civilization. We stand optimistic about the fruits of the translation award, confident in its civilizational role." Dr Al Kuwari concluded his speech by emphasizing the cultural status that Doha has now reached to be a capital of culture in every sense of the word. As Doha, with its institutions, cultural monuments and soft diplomacy, has become a radiant culture and art and plays a distinctive role in the Arab world and everywhere under the leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
During his speech, Dr Al Kuwari expressed his thanks to the award officials who succeeded in achieving major accomplishments that enhance communication between cultures, peoples and countries, and give us hope for civilizational resumption. His Excellency also praised the prominent cultural and media role played by the QPC.
Dr Hanan al Fayadh, gave a presentation in which she reviewed the definition, vision and objectives of the award, which was launched in 2015, as well as the most important results achieved by the award over the past ten years, showing with statistics the distribution of participants in the award in its various categories, and the percentage of countries with the highest participation, as 214 winners representing 48 countries have won the award since its launch, and the award has covered 37 languages around the world over the course of ten years.
