Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, November 19th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Following Beirut, Doha, Manama, Paris, and Marrakesh the 2015 TAKREEM Award Ceremony was held in Dubai in the presence of HH Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan.

“I am pleased to greet, welcome and be with you in this celebration, the Arab excellence ceremony and celebrate the talented Arabs in all aspects of life ” said HH Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahyan

TAKREEM was founded to recognise and celebrate such Arab men and women who are each making history in their own way.

Have we not all dreamed of running our own company by the age of 29? Don’t you think that even with a disability, it is still possible to achieve your goals? Have you met women who suffer resistance, torture and persecution and still go out and campaign for human rights in their society? Can you put a name to great individuals who are revolutionizing the sciences and medical fields? “I stand again on Takreem’s platform, this time in Dubai, with deep faith in this initiative to honor great people in our Arab World”, Ricardo Karam founder of Takreem said.

This year the Jury has voted to recognise the following laureates for their achievements:

    Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri, MD – Lebanon for the Scientific and Technological Achievement Award
    Mr. Khalid Al-Khudair – KSA for the Young Entrepreneur Award
    Al Kamandjâti – Palestine for the Cultural Excellence Award
    Lebanon Eco Movement – Lebanon for the Environmental Development and Sustainability Award
    Ms. Vian Dakhil – Iraq for the Outstanding Arab Woman Award
    Ms. Rawan Barakat – Jordan for the Innovation in Education Award
    Dr. Jumana Odeh – Palestine for the Humanitarian and Civic Services Award
    Mr. Nabil Habayeb –Lebanon for the Corporate Leadership Award
    Save the Children – Middle East for the International Contribution to Arab Society Award
    Mr. Riad Al-Sadik - Palestine was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award
    Mrs. Mamdouha El-Sayed Bobst – Lebanon was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award
    Dr. Ghazi Algosaibi – Saudi Arabia was posthumously awarded for a Lifetime Achievement Award
    Dr. Hilal and Margaret Al-Sayer – Kuwait were awarded a Special Distinction Award

The TAKREEM 2015 Jury Board included HM Queen Noor Al-Hussein, HRH Prince Mansour Bin Nasser, HRH Princess Banderi AlFaisal, Mr. Issa Abu-Issa, HE Sheikha Mai Al Khalifa, Mr. Thomas Abraham, Sheikh Saleh Al-Turki, Dr. Farida Allaghi, Mr. Samir Assaf, HE Lakhdar Brahimi, HE Shaikha Paula Al Sabah, Mr. Samir Brikho, Mr. Carlos Ghosn, Mrs. Nora Joumblatt, Dr. Ahmed Heikal, Dr. Samer Khoury, Mr. Marc Levy, Lady Hayat Mroue Palumbo, Mrs. Asma Al Mutawa, and Mr. Raja Sidawi.

Prominent journalist Laila Al-Shaikhli hosted the 6th Award Ceremony attended by 800 guests among who were royalties, leaders, academics, intellectuals, journalists and artists.

A press conference took place the next day at the Capital Club, Dubai followed by a brunch and panel discussions.

TAKREEM was given invaluable support by the following strategic partners: Audemars Piguet, AMEC Foster Wheeler, GSSG, King Abdullah Economic City, Nesma, Renault-Nissan Alliance, and Salam International.

For further info, please visit www.takreem.net

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The Laureates

    Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri, MD is being recognised for driving forward academic medical research and practices in thoracic, head and neck oncology. Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri became the 16th President of the American University of Beirut on September 1, 2015.
    Mr. Khalid Al-Khudair was awarded because of his contribution to empowering Saudi women in the job market as the Founder and CEO of Glowork, an organization that that seeks to match Saudi women with employment opportunities. To date, Glowork has matched over 6,000 women with employment opportunities.
    Al Kamandjâti was granted the award for introducing and promoting broad-based musical education as an integral part of Palestinian life, making music accessible to the entire Palestinian community to strengthen their appreciation of Palestinian culture and identity.
    Lebanon Eco Movement is being recognized for its work to preserve Lebanon's natural and cultural heritage. Lebanon Eco Movement is a network of over 60 environmental organisation and associations.
    Ms. Vian Dakhil has been granted the award because of her stance to protect the rights of the Yazidi community in Iraq, despite facing severe and life-threatening opposition. She is one of only two Yazidi members in the Iraqi parliament.
    Ms. Rawan Barakat is being honoured for her founding of Rannen, a non-profit foundation that creates audio-stories and libraries for children in order to develop their listening and communication skills, inspired by her visual disability.
    Dr. Jumana Odeh is being recognised for her remarkable contribution to pediatrics and public health in Palestine. She is the Founder and Director of the Palestinian Happy Child Center in Ramallah.
    Mr. Nabil Habayeb is been awarded because of his three decades of support of the region’s developmental goals through his work at General Electric (GE). Mr. Nabil Habayeb leads GE’s operations in MENAT.
    Save the Children – Middle East is granted the award for its six decades of work in the Middle East, serving some 181 million people by operating seven country offices in the region.

    Mr. Riad Al-Sadik was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his overcoming adversity and building one of the region’s most impressive construction ventures, Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises with Khalaf Al Habtoor. Initially, the company had less than 100 employees and today employs over 25,000 people and operates throughout the Middle East, with a billion dollar turnover.
    Mrs. Mamdouha El-Sayed Bobst was awarded posthumously for her impressive philanthropic work. She was born in Tripoli, Lebanon in 1925 and went on to serve the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Together with her husband she founded and led The Elmer and Mamdouha Bobst Foundation, through which she championed education, medical care and social justice.
    Dr. Ghazi Algosaibi was awarded posthumously for his contribution to regional politics and literature. He was a Saudi literary and political figurehead, who was celebrated for his work in academia, public service, diplomacy and literature, which spanned the spectrum from pragmatic political analysis to thoughtful poetic reflection.
    Dr. Hilal and Margaret Al-Sayer were awarded a Special Distinction Award for their provision of pediatric and pediatric palliative care. They have founded the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH) and Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice (BACH). KACCH aims to provide psychosocial care to hospitalized children and to support them and their families to cope with their hospital experience. BACH provides pediatric palliative care to all children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, free of charge and irrespective of their religion, nationality or gender.

Word of the Founder

The Arab world is bleeding.

It is time to say, enough is enough. Our sacred soil is saturated with the blood of too many innocent victims.

Is it not time to ask ourselves why we, as Arabs, cannot live in peace?

Is it not time to live in prosperity and joy like other developed nations?

Is it not time for us to stop killing one another in the name of religion, sectarianism and ethnicity?

Is it not time to unite and free Palestine? Is it not time to eradicate fanaticism and destroy Isis and other terrorist organizations?

Is it not time to cease the repetition of the massacres of Assyrians, Chaldeans, Yazidis and Kurds?

Is it not time to say enough is enough when we see broken families, tearful mothers, orphan children, desperate refugees and displaced persons?

Is it not time to give the whole world a better image of the Arab world?

We are 350 million Arabs. These numbers are powerful but they only tell part of the story. We must be realistic. As we reflect on the state of affairs across the Arab world, what do we see? Where have we reached?

Divided, individualistic, war ravaged, badly perceived by outsiders, lacking any effective lobbying. In brief - weak and troubled.

TAKREEM was born as a step on the path towards enlightenment in the Arab world. Its aim is to insure that in the midst of our agony, we can survive, produce and move on. We embrace creativity, freedom of thought, human rights, entrepreneurship, advanced technology, gender equity and the potential of Arab youth. By inspiring these young people, we also tell the world that we Arabs are doers.

For six years, we have been fortunate to identify inspirational but unsung heroes, and to put them through a highly competitive process that made the selection of laureates very difficult.

And here we are in Dubai...

Dubai has always been a place of welcome for visitors from all over the world; it has built bridges between different cultures.

May we ensure that those bridges lead us to a brighter future in the Arab world!

For further info, please visit www.takreem.net

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Contacts

Elie Azzi

Senior Communications Executive

+971 56 1563627

Elie.azzi@havasprme.com

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