On behalf of His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, His Excellency Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani presented the awards to the winners of the 11th Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding. The ceremony was attended by a number of Their Excellencies sheikhs, ministers, senior officials, and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the State of Qatar.
The 11th edition of the award witnessed wide international participation from 32 countries, with five languages included in this year’s competition categories. In the German-Arabic translation category, three translators were honored. Mohammad Ahmad Abu Zaid won second place, sharing the award with Omar Al Ghoul, while Haroun Ahmad Sulaiman Ahmad won third place. The first-place prize in this category was not awarded.
In the Arabic-German translation category, Larissa Bander won first place. In the Turkish-Arabic translation category, Abdul-Razzaq Barakat won third place, while the first- and second-place prizes in this category were not awarded. In the Arabic-Turkish translation category, Davut Elitas and Mehmet Yusha Ozmen shared first place, while Elif Baga and Cahit Senel shared second place. Mustafa Ismail Donmez won third place.
The ceremony also honored winners of the Achievement Awards for institutions and individuals. In the English language category, the award went to Namaa Foundation. In the Turkish language category, the awards were shared by Baqa Publishing, Vahdettin İnca, and Ankara Okulu Publishing. In the German language category, the award was presented to the Institute of Oriental Studies at the University of Leipzig.
In the Thai language category, the achievement awards went to Amnawai Efendi Boker Ajin, the Association of Graduates of Arab Universities in Thailand, and Arun Jalaluddin. In the Albanian language category, the achievers included Muhammad Muwafaq Al Arnaout, Dar Logos-A Publishing, Viti Mehdiu, the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pristina, and Sulejman Tomçini.
At the beginning of the ceremony, an introductory film was screened highlighting the key milestones of the current edition of the award, as well as its activities and accompanying events, including field tours conducted in several countries.
