The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has announced that the submission period for the Kanz Al Jeel Award 2024 is now open and will be accepting nominations until 31 March 2024. The announcement was made following the grand ceremony of the Award’s second edition, held at Zayed Central Library in Al Ain under the patronage of HH Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region.

The Kanz Al Jeel Award is a distinguished cultural platform eagerly awaited by Nabati poets, folklore researchers, translators and artists looking to showcase their valued literary and academic contributions towards reviving this rich and diverse facet of Emirati cultural heritage. The Award is now accepting applications across its six categories – Poetry Matching, Arts, Studies and Research, Poetic Publications, Translation, and Creative Personality – which can be submitted on the KAJ website.

His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the ALC, said: “The launch of the third edition of the Kanz Al Jeel Award builds on the significant success of previous cycles in promoting the art form as well as fostering a sense of cultural belonging. The Award plays a critical role in shedding light on the unique character of the literary and cultural legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and reviving this heritage to inspire younger generations.”

“The Award has attracted outstanding poetic and literary creations, contributing to the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre’s strategic goals to promote the Arabic language, enrich the cultural landscape with diverse literary productions, and support creative efforts, authorship, and translation around the world,” H.E. bin Tamim added. “Kanz Al Jeel brings together the pillars of poetry and heritage in a notable cultural event, reminiscent of the great traditional poetry nights and the masterpieces that embody the golden ages of authentic Arabic poetry.”

The Kanz Al Jeel award aims to elevate the status of poetry and its role as a mirror of society and an embodiment of Emirati and Arab creativity. It seeks to generate interest in Nabati poetry, honour and publish outstanding poetic experiences, and highlight Sheikh Zayed’s poetry, with its aesthetic and human values, shedding light on it from various artistic perspectives to enrich the Sheikh Zayed Poetry Encyclopaedia.

The Award’s objectives also include preserving the heritage arts to strengthen younger generations’ identity by connecting them to their poetry, culture, and heritage. It focuses on arts closely tied to Nabati poetry and the Arabic language as a cultural vessel for poetry, as well as fields such as music, folk singing, painting, and Arabic calligraphy. Moreover, it seeks to translate Sheikh Zayed’s poetry into various languages, and translate impactful and inspiring Nabati poetic texts, in line with the ALC’s goals.

The conditions for participating in the Kanz Al Jeel Award are designed to enhance competitiveness and include criteria and standards to evaluate submitted texts and studies and ensure fairness and credibility. Under these conditions, nomination of candidates for the Creative Personality category is done through academic, research, or cultural institutions, or by the Award’s Higher Committee. Meanwhile, nomination for the remaining five categories is open to individual creators, literary and cultural institutions, universities, and publishing houses.

Candidates must have actively contributed to enriching and developing the local and Arab poetic, critical, or artistic movements. Submitted works must demonstrate a high degree of authenticity and innovation, representing a significant addition to human culture and knowledge. Additionally, submitted works must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) to protect intellectual property rights.

One work may be submitted for one award category, and entries should not have participated in any other competition or received another award in the same year. Works must be written in Arabic, except for the Translation, Studies and Research, and Creative Personality categories. The Kanz Al Jeel Award reserves the right to publish submitted works. Additionally, winners of the Kanz Al Jeel Award are allowed to apply for the award again five years after winning.

Artists are invited to submit their works in the Arts category, as per the artform selected by the Higher Committee for each edition. For this year’s edition, the selected artform is Arabic calligraphy. Participating artists are required to create their works using verses from the poem ‘Ya Tha al-Shabab Ili Ghatarif’ (يا ذا الشباب الي غِطاريف) by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and styling them as Arabic calligraphy.

The Poetry Matching category is given to one poem that excels in matching Sheikh Zayed’s ‘Ya Tha al-Shabab Ili Ghatarif’ (يا ذا الشباب الي غِطاريف), while the Creative Personality award is presented to individuals or institutions that have made notable and effective creative contributions to Nabati poetry and studies, as well as in the fields of music, singing, drawing, and Arabic calligraphy.

The Arts category sees the award granted to an artwork that uses visual tools to interpret and embody Sheikh Zayed’s poetry and Nabati poetry, including Arabic calligraphy or abstract arts, while the Studies and Research category  is awarded to published studies on Nabati poetry that employ a scientific approach to study its methods, content, and lexicon.

Poetic Publications is presented to a Nabati poetry collection that embodies authenticity in form and content, while the final category, Translation, honours efforts to translate the late Sheikh Zayed’s poetry into other languages, or works that constituted significant contributions towards translating Arabic poetry into other languages.

The 2023 Kanz Al Jeel Award received distinguished contributions from countries around the world, offering a total prize pool of AED 1.5 million.

The Poetry Matching category saw renowned Saudi poet and media figure Ali Asiri, also known as Ali Al Sabaan, win for his poem ‘Qudwat Al Shu’ar’ (The Role Model Poet), while Dr. Abdalla Belhaif Alnuaimi from the UAE won the award in the Poetic Publications category for his collection ‘Ishq Yatajaddad’ (A Love Renewed), and Jordanian artist Muntasir Fathi won in the Arts category saw for his piece titled ‘Fiha Zahat Al Anwar’ (In It Blossomed the Lights).

The Kanz Al Jeel Award for the Studies and Research category went to Dr. Abdullah Maneh Ghleis from Kuwait for his book ‘Al-Marjaa al-Wafi fi al-Awzan wal-Qawafi lil-Shi’r al-Fasih wal-Nabati’ (The Comprehensive Reference of Rhymes for Classical and Nabati Poetry), while Emirati poet Saif Al Saadi won the award’s Creative Personality category, in recognition of his contributions as one of the most prominent poets in the Gulf region, whose poems are known for their deep meaning, use of local colloquialisms, and unique poetic imagery.