Chinese Orientalist Wins 'Cultural Personality of the Year'

Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces its 5th Year Winners

ABU DHABI, UAE, March 2, 2011 - The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, one of the most prestigious and well-funded
prizes in the Arab World, announced its winners for the year (2010-2011) .The
winners were named in five distinct categories, while four other categories
were withheld for this year.

(Logo:
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    The Winners for 2010-2011 as per Award's Categories are:

    Category            Winner      Nationality   Title     Publisher

    Cultural          Chung Jikon     Chinese       -           -
    Personality of
    the Year

    Best              Abdel Raouf     Lebanon     "Harb        Arab
    Contribution to      Sinno                    Lubnan    Scientific
    the Development                             1975-1990"  Publishers,
    of Nations                                                 Inc.
                                                             Lebanon.

    Best Book in    Mohammad Miftah   Morocco   "Mafaheem   Center for
    Literature                                   Muwasa'a      Arab
                                                    Li       Culture.
                                                 Nazaryah    Lebanon
                                                 Shi'ryah"

    Best Book in    Mohammad Ziyad     Syria       "Al       King Saud
    Translation          Kebbe                  Tharwah wa  University
                                                Iqtisad Al  (KSU) Saudi
                                                 Ma'rifah"    Arabia.

    Children's       Afaf Tabalah      Egypt     "Al Bayt     Nahdet
    Literature                                     Wal         Misr,
                                                 Nakhlah".  Publishing.
                                                              Cairo.

The announcement of winners came after discussions at large
between the Award's Higher Committee and Advisory Council of the results
submitted by the judging panels across the Award's nine Categories. The
judges independently evaluated a total of 715 nominations received in this
year's session and submitted their evaluations against a stringent,
quantifiable scoring criterion to ensure the decision is truly reflective of
their independent and expert views.

The award - carrying the name of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who
served as the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE for over 30 years -
was established in 2006 to foster greater scholarship and creativity by
recognizing and rewarding innovators and thinkers in areas of knowledge, arts
and humanities.

The award recognizes cultural achievement across one of the broadest and
most diverse areas of any cultural awards internationally. The "Cultural
Personality of the Year" honours prominent figures for their unique
contributions to the advancement of the Arabic culture, and for works that
portray tolerance and promote peaceful coexistence.

"Professor Chung has implemented one of the finest models of cultural
dialogue. The Award's Advisory Council decision came in recognition of his
generous contribution for more than fifty years in rooting the Arabic
language in the Far East, by teaching, translating and researching our
region's culture and literature," Mr. Al Oraimi elaborated. "His translations
and writings preserve the essence of our literature across continents, only
wrapped in a different language."

Chung is the author of the 'History of Arabic Literature' encyclopedia,
which comprises 1140 pages in two volumes. He currently works in various
capacities, among which are Professor of Arabic Language in the University of
Peking, head of Chinese Society for Arabic Literature Studies, vice president
of the Culture Committee at the China-Arab Friendship Association, member of
the Chinese Writers Association, and honorary member of the Arab Writers
Union. He has also translated major works of iconic Arab novelists including
Kahlil Jibran, Naguib Mahfouz, and Ih'san Abdul Quddus.

The winner of the Cultural Personality of the Award will receive 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 will receive around US$ 204,182
(Euros 161,255), a gold medal and a certificate of merit.

The 2011 Sheikh Zayed Book Award Winners as per the Judges results
succeeded for the below reasons:

1. Best Contribution to the Development of Nations - Dr. Abdel Raouf
Sinno from Lebanon for his book "Harb Lubnan 1975-1990". The Award's Advisory
Council's decision came in recognition of the value of the book as an
accurate resource on the historical era of Lebanon from 1975 through 1990,
providing an in-depth scientific analysis of the socio-economic circumstances
leading to the disintegration of the country's structure, culture and
economy.

2. Best Book in Literature: Dr. Mohammad Miftah from Morocco, for his
book "Mafaheem Muwasa'a Li Nazaryah Shi'ryah" - comprises of three Volumes.
The Award's Advisory Council's decision came in recognition of the immense
value of the author's work, combining descriptive, analytical and exploratory
methodologies in one scientific study of linguistics, music and psychology,
in an attempt to establish a theory that links poetry to mysterious forces of
the universe.

3. Best Book in Translation - Dr. Mohammad Ziyad Kibbeh from Syria, for
his book "Al Tharwah wa Iqtisad Al Ma'rifah" - Translated from "Revolutionary
Wealth" by Alvin and Heidi Toffler, Random House 2007. The translated
reference offers solutions to critical contemporary quandaries which the
winning translator has successfully communicated using excellent language
while preserving the essence of the original script.

4. Children's Literature - Afaf Tabbalah from Egypt, for her
book "Al Bayt Wal Nakhlah". The winning book was named a sophisticated
diversion from the children's literature "mainstream". It explores the inner
worlds of children, in a masterful story-telling style, leaving ample room
for the young readers to view their surroundings in light of they read.

Meanwhile, awards for "Young Author", "Fine Arts", "Publishing and
Distribution", and "Best Technology in the Field of Culture" were withheld
for this session. "This year's nominations in these categories did not meet
the Award's stringent standards and the Advisory Council opted to withhold
them as a result," Al Oraimi explained.

The winner will be announced at the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Grand
Ceremony wards ceremony to be held in The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on
March 16, 2011, parallel to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

    Notes to the Editor

    - The award was established in memory of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al
      Nahyan, who served as the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE
      for over 30 years

    - Sheikh Zayed Book Award rewards innovators and thinkers in areas of
      knowledge, arts and humanities. Winners are identified through
      stringent scientific and objective principles to evaluate the merits
      of their creative work.

    - The award comprises a total monetary prize value of seven million UAE
      dirhams. Each prize consists of a gold medal bearing the SZBA logo, a
      certificate of merit. The Cultural Personality of the Year winner
      receives a prize of one million dirhams, while the winners of the
      other categories receive 750,000 dirhams

The Nine Categories of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award:

The award recognizes cultural achievement across one of the broadest and
most diverse areas of any cultural awards internationally, including:

1. Contribution to the Development of Nations: Consists of works in the
fields of economics, sociology, management, politics, law and theology that
contribute to the country's advancement.

2. Children's Literature: Covers literary and cultural works addressing
various children's groups

3. Young Author: Recognizes scientific, literary or cultural works
produced by authors younger than 40 years

4. Translation: Includes translated works, either to or from Arabic

5. Literature: Represents works across various categories of literature
including poetry, stories, novels and plays, research addressing literary
theories, creative writings or works of criticism

6. Fine Arts: Covers books about various forms of art such as music,
cinema, architecture, plastic art, calligraphy, painting, sculpture,
photography and digital arts

7. Best Technology in the Field of Culture: Recognizes written or digital
works and researches which promote the Arabic language.

8. Publishing and Distribution: Includes publishers, distributors and
research institutions which produce a diverse range of texts printed to the
highest standard

9. Cultural Personality of the Year: Honors a prominent Arab or
international figure who has contributed to the advancement of the Arabic
culture, embodies through his/her work tolerance and promotes peaceful
coexistence

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2010 Winners:

1. Cultural Personality of the Year- His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin
Mohamed Al-Qasimi- Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates
and Ruler of Sharjah

2. Best Contribution to the Development of Nations - withheld

3. Children's Literature - Qais Sedki - United Arab Emirates

4. Literature - retracted

5. Fine Arts - Iyad Hussein Abdullah - Iraq

6. Translation - Albert Habib Mutlaq - Lebanon

7. Young Author - Mohammad Al Mallakh - Morrocco

8. Publishing and Distribution - Nahdet Misr Publishing and Printing
- Egypt

2009 Winners:

1. Best Contribution to the Development of Nations - Baqer Salman Al
Najjar - Bahrain

2. Children's Literature - withheld

3. Literature - Jamal Al Ghitani - Egypt

4. Fine Arts - Maher Rady - Egypt

5. Translation - Sa'ad Abdulaziz Maslouh- Egypt

6. Young Author - Youcef Oughlici - Algeria

7. Cultural Personality of the Year - Pedro Martinez Montavez - Spain

8. Publishing and Distribution - Al-Dar Al-Masriah Al-Lubnaniah - Egypt

2008 Winners

Best Contribution to the Development of Nations - withheld

Children's Literature - Huda Al-Shawwa Qadoumi - Kuwait

Literature - Ibrahim Al Kaouni - Libya

Fine Arts - Rifat Al-Chaderji - Iraq

Translation - Fayiz Suyyagh - Jordan

Young Author - Mohammed Sa'di - Morrocco

Cultural Personality of the Year - H. E. Mohammed Bin Eissa - Morrocco

Contribution to Technology in the Field of Culture - withheld

Publishing and Distribution - Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and
Research

2007 Winners:

Best Contribution to the Development of Nations - Bashir Mohamed
Al-Khadra - Jordan

Children's Literature - Mohammed Ali Ahmad - Egypt

Literature - Waciny Laredj - Algeria

Fine Arts - Tharwat Ukhasha - Egypt

Translation - Georges Zinaty - Lebanon

Young Author - Mahmoud Zein Al-Abedeen - Syria

Cultural Personality of the Year - Denys Johnson-Davies - United Kingdom

Contribution to Technology in the Field of Culture - withheld

Publishing and Distribution - withheld

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