The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award is granted every two years to a number of outstanding Arab innovators and intellectuals in recognition of their significant contributions in the fields of poetry; short story, novel and drama; literary studies and criticism; and humanities and future studies.
The award winners’ work must reflect the authenticity of Arab thought, express the aspirations of the Arab people and have a significant impact on scholarly, literary and cultural life. The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award is an independent and impartial award that is not subject to any influences or pressures. Innovation is the sole award criterion, regardless of the political backgrounds or ideological beliefs of the candidates. The award, which offers a monetary prize worth US $120,000.00 to the winner of each of its categories, is granted without regard to race, religion or gender.
Award Objectives
The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Awards aims at honoring and encouraging Arab authors, writers, thinkers and scientists, as well as recognizing their contributions to cultural, intellectual and scientific development in the Arab world.
Award Categories
The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Awards comprises the following four categories:
- “Poetry”: The award is granted to one poet and may be shared equally between two poets.
- “Short Story, Novel and Drama”: The award is granted to the winner in one of the three aforementioned literary genres and may be shared equally between two winners from one or two genres.
- “Literary Studies and Criticism”: The award is granted to one winner in the fields of literary studies or criticism and may be shared equally between two winners from both fields or from within the same field.
- “Humanities and Future Studies”: The award is granted to one winner in the field of the Humanities or in Future Studies and may be shared equally between two winners from both fields or from within the same field.
Scientific and Cultural Achievement Award
The Scientific and Cultural Achievement Award is an independent award that is not subject to the judging criteria of the main award categories. The Scientific and Cultural Achievement Award is granted to a cultural, scientific or public personality or institution that has made a recognizable contribution to the Arab cultural scene. The winner is granted the award based on the final decision of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. This award was launched under the name of “The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Scientific and Cultural Achievement Award” during the second session (1990-1991) and was added to the previous award categories. It is usually granted to individuals or entities having undisputed scientific or cultural achievements, and aims at highlighting outstanding accomplishments in the fields of medicine, science, history, philosophy, economy as well as political and military sciences.
The total monetary value of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award is US $600,000.00, with a prize of US $120,000.00 for the winner in each of the aforementioned categories.