The Ministry of Culture and Sports announced Wednesday the launch of the Doha Award for Drama Writing.
"The Doha Award is meant to enhance and encourage original creative writings in the Arabic drama, which has always been the role of Doha throughout the various stages of its history," said HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali.
"The award is set to be honest and transparent and would be a good environment for fostering Arabic creative authors and give them the opportunity to exercise their talents in a positive atmosphere," he told a press conference at Qatar National Theatre.
The minister said that much work has preceded the launch and formation of the Award board of trustees, who have managed to lay the main foundations and standards of the award and determine its various details. He also stressed that the judges and referees determining the winning entries would follow the best international practices and standards in the field to guarantee that the applicants are really the best in their categories. He further promised that other similar initiatives would follow to encourage creativity and authentic artistic production.
Dr Marzouq Bashir, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award, pointed out that the minister announced about the award last October at the Drama Conference held in Doha. He said that literature is becoming more and more important as it reflects the contemporary situation of the Arab world and the award is expected to creative a healthy competitive environment among authors to produce their best.
Hamad al-Zakeeb, secretary general of the award committee, said that the jury committees are made up of 15 members from 12 different Arab countries, who will be contacted by the board of trustees to maintain the best possible results. There will be three jury committees, with each having five members, who would not be announced by the board to maintain the integrity of the final decision.
The award was introduced according to the ministerial decision no 58 for 2019, and is considered the first of its type in the field across the Arab world. Entries are accepted from all authors, regardless of nationality (Qataris and non-Qataris) so long as the text is written in proper standard Arabic while the dialogue could be made in local dialect, explaining the words which are not understandable outside the dialect community. There are three categories for the award, with one winner for each with a prize of $100,000: Theatrical text, TV screenplay and cinema screenplay. There is no limitation or restriction on both the content, type or form of each category, but the submitted work should be original and authentic.
Entries will be accepted from May and until the end of September and the winners will be announced in November with the new edition of the award announced at the award ceremony. The Organising Committee of the Award has launched a public website detailing the general and special conditions of the award, in each category. Applicants can submit their entries through www.dohadramaaward.qa.
"The award is set to be honest and transparent and would be a good environment for fostering Arabic creative authors and give them the opportunity to exercise their talents in a positive atmosphere," he told a press conference at Qatar National Theatre.
The minister said that much work has preceded the launch and formation of the Award board of trustees, who have managed to lay the main foundations and standards of the award and determine its various details. He also stressed that the judges and referees determining the winning entries would follow the best international practices and standards in the field to guarantee that the applicants are really the best in their categories. He further promised that other similar initiatives would follow to encourage creativity and authentic artistic production.
Dr Marzouq Bashir, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award, pointed out that the minister announced about the award last October at the Drama Conference held in Doha. He said that literature is becoming more and more important as it reflects the contemporary situation of the Arab world and the award is expected to creative a healthy competitive environment among authors to produce their best.
Hamad al-Zakeeb, secretary general of the award committee, said that the jury committees are made up of 15 members from 12 different Arab countries, who will be contacted by the board of trustees to maintain the best possible results. There will be three jury committees, with each having five members, who would not be announced by the board to maintain the integrity of the final decision.
The award was introduced according to the ministerial decision no 58 for 2019, and is considered the first of its type in the field across the Arab world. Entries are accepted from all authors, regardless of nationality (Qataris and non-Qataris) so long as the text is written in proper standard Arabic while the dialogue could be made in local dialect, explaining the words which are not understandable outside the dialect community. There are three categories for the award, with one winner for each with a prize of $100,000: Theatrical text, TV screenplay and cinema screenplay. There is no limitation or restriction on both the content, type or form of each category, but the submitted work should be original and authentic.
Entries will be accepted from May and until the end of September and the winners will be announced in November with the new edition of the award announced at the award ceremony. The Organising Committee of the Award has launched a public website detailing the general and special conditions of the award, in each category. Applicants can submit their entries through www.dohadramaaward.qa.
