Researcher / Fatima Muhammad Al-Amin Musa
An introduction:
In recognition of the pioneering role of youth in leading the process of development and development, various efforts are accelerating and joining forces to support their bright ideas, adopt their creativity and innovations, and refine their talents in various scientific, technical, cultural and social fields. In this context, achievement motivation and motivation play an important role in raising the level of youth performance and productivity in the various fields and activities they face. That feeling that someone gets as a result of material or moral stimulation … etc. will push him to do his best and help him direct his behavior, including Ultimately qualifying him to achieve his goals and success in his life[i].
In line with the foregoing, youth awards stand out as one of the most important motivation mechanisms that contributed to encouraging young people to continue creativity to achieve more achievements, despite the fact that awareness of this type of awards in the Arab world came late, compared to the Western world, which recognized its early role in The development of arts, literature and sciences, but it cannot be denied what these awards have contributed as an initiative that opened the appetite of Arab youth for more creativity and excellence in various fields.
From this point of view, this article came to shed light on the most prominent of these awards, while clarifying their conditions, fields and advantages, so that they can be benefited from by those wishing to apply for these awards, and then link them to workers with young people who play a key role in building youth capabilities and motivating them.
Arab Youth Awards… Competitive Atmosphere for Youth Empowerment:
In a path parallel to the pace of youth awards at the level of the countries of the world, each Arab award is imposed its own laws and conditions, headed by specialized jury committees for the competition category, and governed by internal systems and standards that ensure the achievement of the elements of creative work. These awards are also usually subject to follow-up and criticism by the community circles concerned with the award, as it is one of the activities of interest to the whole community and not only the awarding institution. Despite the relative difference between the conditions for applying for these awards from one Arab country to another, they are united by the pursuit of discovering real talents by relying on the principles of efficiency, transparency and objective criteria in nominations.
The following are examples of awards that have been allocated to young people, classified and presented according to the diversity of their goals, objectives, and aspirations:
Specialized awards in a field, such as those awarded in a specific scientific discipline or literary art:
It is noted that the “Axis of Narrative Creativity” has topped the top prizes for young people in the Arab world, as the Arab cultural scene has recently witnessed the birth of many literary prizes, which honored writers and creators in novelistic excellence. These awards, especially the “International Prize for Arabic Fiction,” have contributed Known as the “Booker Prize in its Arabic version”, in the inauguration of a cultural movement that resonated globally; The International Prize for Arabic Fiction[ii], established in 2007, contributed to enriching the Arab cultural scene and creating a remarkable critical, media and print movement around the art of the novel. It is funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority in the United Arab Emirates. The award requires that the writer not nominate his novel himself, but that the publishing house eligible to apply should undertake the nomination process, that the publisher qualified to apply for the award must be active in the field, that the publishing house has been in publishing for at least two years, and that it has a list Publicly available fiction publications proving its activity, and the total rewards for the award amount to about one hundred thousand US dollars annually. In addition to the financial rewards, the Foundation is keen to translate the winning works into English, as part of its efforts to ensure a global radiance of Arab fiction creativity.
Awards named after Arab intellectuals, innovators, and businessmen interested in creativity:
In the United Arab Emirates, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development announced in 2003 the “Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for Supporting Youth Enterprises”[iii]; To honor exceptional entrepreneurs projects within the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world, the award aims to create a competitive environment between entrepreneurs in the country and the Arab countries. The award categories for the best projects in the United Arab Emirates are as follows: the industrial sector, the service sector, the commercial sector, and projects It is practiced from home and licensed in the Emirate of Dubai (Intelaq), and the conditions for participation in the award: The project must be legally registered, based in the UAE, and owned and managed by the citizens of the country, and the project is classified according to age as follows: Projects that are practiced from The licensed house in the Emirate of Dubai (Intelaq) up to 3 years old, start-up projects from six months to two years, and existing projects from two to seven years … while the “HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Arab Youth”[iv] is considered one of the most important annual competitions and events in Dubai. The Arab world, which encourages young people from 12 to 21 years of age to be creative, innovative and actively contribute to entrepreneurship. It is a tribute to the youth of the Emirates, and is characterized by the diversity of its fields and branches, to include the fields of literature, arts, sciences, and sports, as well as entrepreneurship, and contribution to humanitarian and social activities. The total value of the award reaches 120 thousand dirhams, divided into three categories; They are: Creative Arab Youth, The Creative Project, and the sponsoring authority for Arab youth.
In Jordan, King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein launched the “King Abdullah II Award for Youth Achievement and Creativity”[v] during the World Economic Forum in 2007, with the aim of highlighting the distinguished efforts of young people in achieving positive change according to the priorities and needs of their local communities, and focusing on the importance of practicing dialogue among Arab youth; To remove barriers and encourage them to unite and cooperate among themselves, the award is granted once every two years, and those wishing to participate must hold an Arab nationality, be at least 21 years old, and not more than 35 years old, and be the founder or one of the founders of a project that falls within the framework of entrepreneurship community, provided that at least two years have passed since the implementation of the project’s activities.
In Palestine, we find the annual award “Munir al-Kaloti Award for Palestinian Pioneering Youth”[vi], which was established in 2012 to target Palestinian youth residing in the Foundation’s work areas, aged between 18 to 40 years, who seek to establish or develop distinguished pioneering projects. And innovative, within the concept of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, and the total prize value is up to 50 thousand US dollars, in addition to an honorary shield bearing the name of the winner and the slogan “Cooperation”, distributed over a maximum of five initiatives, with a maximum value of 10 thousand US dollars for each award.
The Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation also launched the “Abdul Hameed Shoman Prize for Arab Researchers” [vii] in 1982, in an effort by the Foundation to support and highlight scientific research throughout the Arab world, and to participate in preparing and inspiring a generation of Arab researchers, experts and specialists in various scientific fields, in light of The limited capabilities of institutions, universities and individuals, and the award is granted in one of the following fields: medical and health sciences, engineering sciences, basic sciences, arts, humanities, social and educational sciences, technological and agricultural sciences, and economic and administrative sciences. The winners deserve a certificate that includes the name of the award and the name of the winner, and the field that won In it, a financial reward of twenty thousand US dollars, and a shield bearing the name and logo of the award.
In the field of scientific and sports creativity, the “Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa Award for Scientific Research in the Sports Field” in the Kingdom of Bahrain aims to encourage young Bahraini researchers and specialists or residents to innovate and conduct scientific research in the fields of knowledge “physical education and sports sciences”; To promote sports locally and in the Arab world, and the total value of the award reaches $150,000. One of the conditions for applying for this award is that the research submitter is Bahraini or resides in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and that the research is distinguished in its place and compatible with the award’s objectives, while adhering to the rules of scientific research in terms of Authenticity, seriousness, accuracy of documentation, integrity of the method, and the applied value of the research results, and the research must not have previously been submitted to another party or previously published, and joint works are accepted by researchers, provided that the number does not exceed three researchers, provided that their names are mentioned in the research [ viii].
- Awards bearing the name of Arab countries or their capitals:
Believing in the importance of developing and empowering young people through the concerted efforts of all official and civil society, the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched the “Saudi National Cultural Awards”[ix] to annually honor Saudi creators in various cultural sectors. The awards were divided into four main tracks, the Pioneers Award, the Culture Award For Youth, the Cultural Institutions Award, and the fourth track includes 11 awards, covering all sectors of culture in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Culture will open the door for registration and participation, according to specific mechanisms that will be announced in the first session of the awards, in the second quarter of 2020… In terms of enhancing students’ abilities and developing their skills in various fields: personal, social, scientific, cultural and others, and seeking to provide a stimulating environment for distinguished student activities The General Administration of Education in Taif Governorate, represented by the Student Activity Department, launched the “Excellence Award for the Hour of Activity”[x]; To urge teachers and activity leaders, of all categories, without condition or restriction, to actively participate and stimulate creative ideas in proposing and implementing activities. This award, which is the first step to participate at the level of the Ministry of Education in its various awards, includes six categories of excellence; They are: the distinguished school, the outstanding project, the outstanding student, the outstanding supervisor, the distinguished department, and the activity hour team. This award has defined a set of criteria and requirements that must be met to compete in the competitions, including that all documents and evidence submitted to the award are recent, documented by an official body accredited within Ministry or outside; The content of all these documents and evidence should also match the actual reality, and the judging committee of this award has the right to take all necessary measures in the event of a violation.
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Foundation, the “Emirates Award for Encouraging Arab Youth” [xi] was launched, as one of the initiatives of the Emirates Foundation, which is managed through the “Kafaat” program, with the aim of Promote a culture of entrepreneurship, in line with the country’s national strategic plan. This award targets the youth of the Arab Gulf countries, residing in the United Arab Emirates, between the ages of 18 and 35, in an effort to activate the role of youth and take advantage of its positive trends towards creating new ideas and innovative solutions to deal with social challenges. The winners will receive financial prizes amounting to 145,000 dirhams … and based on the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and in line with His Highness’s efforts to support talented writers in the UAE and throughout the great Arab world The Sharjah Creativity Award [xii] was established in 1996, to adopt the discovery of literary talents from creators who do not have previous editions of the award, and it includes six branches; They are: novels, poetry, short stories, theater, children’s literature, and criticism. This award is also repeated, provided that the contestant is not over forty years old.
As a culmination of the tireless Arab endeavor to promote the values and concepts of volunteering, the Youth Voluntary and Humanitarian Initiatives Forum announced the “Kuwait Award for Voluntary and Humanitarian Youth Initiatives”[xiii], to be the most prominent event that highlights positive Arab youth, and highlights their efforts in serving the issues of their communities And to provide innovative solutions to support humanitarian issues in various specializations and fields of work, so that the award would be an opportunity to meet young people interested in volunteer and humanitarian work from various Arab countries, giving them the opportunity to exchange their ideas and develop their initiatives and projects. These initiatives are subject to the approval and evaluation of the competent technical committee.
Awards addressing the creators of Arab countries in general:
As for the “Arab Youth Creativity Festival Awards in Literary, Scientific and Artistic Fields, for University Students, Institutes, and Governmental and Private Academies”, which are held in Cairo annually, they came to include competitions in solo playing, short films, individual singing, TV reporter, novel, poetry, and story Short and religious chanting, as an affirmation of the interest in caring for and supporting young people in various fields of creativity, provided that the ages of the contestants range between 18 and 27 years. [xiv]
Based on the keenness of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States to support civil society organizations concerned with activating the role of Arab youth, the Arab Youth Council for Integrated Development organized the “Arab Youth Council Award for Integrated Development for Distinguished Arab Youth”[xv], with the aim of encouraging Arab youth. Distinguished Arab youth in various fields (media, culture, invention, innovation, art, literature, economy, volunteer and service work, scientific research, youth work, entrepreneurship, technology, innovative ideas, relief and crisis management, the field of historical and heritage documentation, and sports in its branches) ), provided that the age of the candidate should not exceed 45 years.
- Working with Youth Award!
When talking about empowering young people, motivating them, building their capabilities and refining their talents, the star of the “worker with youth” shines and his name stands out, as the above is the essence of his work and the focus of his interests. Are there Arab awards or events dedicated to this factor? Let us review this file.
Awareness of this issue came late in the Arab world, despite its reverberations on the Western scene in recent decades, emphasizing the importance of involving young people in drawing their present and future by qualifying them for leadership, training them on how to take responsibility for others, and raising their awareness of the importance of engaging and participating in building and developing their communities beyond individual interests. It is a broad topic that includes many activities of a social, cultural, educational, political, sports and service nature related to youth. It was noted that the map spread of this topic to include more Western countries, as it was adopted by public bodies under official laws and specific legislation, and others affiliated with private sector institutions and civil society organizations. These institutions offer many incentive awards and rewards to those who meet one or more conditions determined according to the requirements of each body or institution. Among these conditions are: practical and theoretical knowledge in a context related to working with young people; Ability to lead teams and groups, coordinate and organize workshops and carry out educational, social and recreational activities; Understand the psychological and pedagogical principles of youth guidance, counselling, active listening and opinion.
Among the most prestigious Western awards in this scope; We mention the “Annual Commonwealth Awards for Workers with Youth”, which was first launched in 2013 AD, to discover the ability of those working with youth to solve national and local problems, and to guide other young people to participate in building and developing the country. Participants compete over the extent to which they contribute to empowering marginalized groups, educating others, contributing to peace, democracy and human rights, promoting health, sports and culture, or protecting the environment. Prize winners are selected by regional judging committees made up of youth leaders, Ministry of Youth officials, youth workers and staff of the Youth Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat… The “Best Worker with Youth Award”, which was supported by the Minister of Youth, targets workers with young people who have made an outstanding contribution. to their local community in Western Australia by undertaking paid or voluntary work in the youth service sector. This award is open to people of any age. This award sets out conditions for those wishing to apply, which are as follows: Demonstrate passion and commitment to improving conditions for young people in their communities, establishing sustainable partnerships and programs that achieve better outcomes for young people in Western Australia, and understanding professional standards and organizational principles for youth work.
The Arab events and programs that were organized in this midst cannot be overlooked. Among them, we mention the “Youth Workers Conference” that was held in Riyadh – Saudi Arabia during the month of October 2019, under the auspices of His Excellency the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, as a national initiative of interested community institutions Human development in general, especially youth, in order to bring together parties working with youth in one place in ministerial dialogues, knowledge meetings and partnerships between agencies. This conference contributed to enhancing the competence of those working with youth and motivating them through its contribution to spreading awareness of trends in working with young people and realizing their needs, the importance of developing skills and creativity in working with young people, the ability to design and manage youth programs and measure their results. As well as increasing the effectiveness of agencies working with youth in accordance with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 through seminars, scientific papers and local and regional experiences.
In the State of Kuwait, the “Workers with Youth Camp” was organized by the Public Authority for Youth during July 2019 to target members of the first Youth Council, and to emphasize the role of youth in specialized youth programs and the overall concepts of positive development, democracy and dialogue. It also sought to establish the concept that duties and rights towards society and the state are a reciprocal process. This camp, which lasted for a whole month, included 120 hours of training to hone the talents and abilities of young people, work on their weaknesses, highlight their energies, and make room for their creativity. The camp concluded by honoring distinguished young leaders to encourage them to exert more effort to excel and benefit the nation, which is in line with the development of youth development around the world, and focuses on consolidating the national identity among youth, and developing the language of dialogue, communication and listening to youth in an institutional manner.
Despite these Arab endeavors mentioned above, we must bear in mind that the Arab countries have not yet completed their necessary paths to raise Arab awareness about the importance of motivating workers with youth, evaluating their performance, and training them on how to lead young people to become competencies and assets capable of advancing their societies. Regardless of the controversy about the role of awards and what they are as a criterion for culture and quality, the value lies in the mechanisms of motivating the individual to use his acquired abilities and skills, in order to reflect on his surrounding social reality, and thus be able to exercise a degree of social responsibility; That is, he can arm himself with the social characteristics, and the collective and global experiences required by development processes. For this reason, it is time for there to be prizes for those working with young people in our Arab world.
[i] Denise Montgomery, The Rise of Creative Youth Development, available at: here
[ii] For more information on the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, please see the link: here
[iv] For more information on the “HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Arab Youth”, please see the link: here
[v] For more information on the “King Abdullah II Award for Youth Achievement and Creativity”, please see the link: here
[vi] For more information about the “Mounir Al Kaloti Youth Entrepreneur Award”, please see the link: here
[vii] For more information about the “Abdul Hameed Shoman Prize for Arab Researchers”, please see the link: here
[viii] Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Jar, “Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa Award for Scientific Research in the Sports Field. An Initiative to Scientifically Advance the Bahraini Sports Movement,” Gulf News newspaper, September 2017, available at the link: here
[ix] For more information on the “National Cultural Awards”, please see the link: here
[x] For more information on the Activity Hour Excellence Award, please see the link: here
[xi] For more information on the “Emirates Prize for Arab Gulf Youth”, please see the link: here
[xii] For more information about the “Sharjah Prize for Arab Creativity”, please see the link: here
[xv] For more information on the “Arab Youth Council Award for Integrated Development for Distinguished Arab Youth”, please see the link: here
