Egyptian poet Ahmed Abdel Motei Hijazi and Yemeni poet Abdul Aziz Al Maqaleh have won the Ahmed Shawqi Award for Poetic Creativity in its first session on Thursday, March 21, 2019, which coincides with the International Day of Poetry.
In a press conference to announce the winners in Cairo, Alaa Abdel Hadi, Head of the General Syndicate of Egyptian Authors, said that the reason the Syndicate chose to launch an international award in the name of Ahmed Shawqi is that since his departure there has not been any similar award in Egyptian culture to commemorate the late iconic poet.
Moreover, he added that the prize, which is worth 200,000 Egyptian pounds (equivalent to $11,500), will be granted every other year to two poets, one of whom is Egyptian and the other will be non-Egyptian.
It is worth mentioning that during its 30th assembly in Paris in 1999, the UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization) has launched International Poetry Day, to be celebrated on March 21st of every year.
