Award ceremony of the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture

The award ceremony of the 13th Edition of the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 14 April 2016, in the presence of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, and Abdualla Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Information of the Emirate of Sharjah.

The laureates of this edition, the author Elias Sanbar and the Biblioteca Islámica of Spain’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, will receive the Prize from the Director-General. An international jury of experts chose the laureates for their commitment to the dissemination of Arab culture around the world.

The award ceremony will be followed by a recital of Mohamed Darwarish's poetry by Hiam Abbass and Dominique Devals who will be accompanied by Philippe Lacarrière and his Quintet.

Created in 1998 at the initiative of the United Arab Emirates, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture rewards the efforts of two personalities or organizations, one from an Arab country and one from any other country, who have made a significant contribution to the development, dissemination and promotion of Arab culture in the world. The Prize carries a monetary value of $60,000, equally divided between the two laureates.