Doha: The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding held a special event on Tuesday evening to celebrate the success of its first decade. The award, launched by Qatar in 2015, aims to promote cross-cultural exchange and support the movement of translation to and from Arabic. The event took place at the Qatar Press Center.

According to Qatar News Agency, officials from the Sheikh Hamad Award, the Qatar Press Center, and a select group of media and cultural institution representatives in Qatar attended the event. Dr. Hanan Al Fayyad, the award’s spokesperson and media advisor, expressed her appreciation for all the media outlets and cultural institutions that have supported the award from the start. She noted that the award has become the most prestigious and influential translation prize globally, recognizing translators and attracting intellectuals interested in translation.

HE Chairman of the Qatar Press Center, Saad bin Mohammed Al Rumaihi, highlighted the importance of translatio
n in serving human cultures. He emphasized that a skilled translator conveys not only the literal text but also its cultural essence to the reader. He stressed that translation is essential for understanding global cultures and sharing Qatari culture with the world.

Dr. Imtenan Smadi, a media team member of the award, spoke about the extensive geographical reach achieved by the award’s team, covering many countries and languages. She praised the award’s efforts in uncovering treasures of Arabic literature, Islamic knowledge, and sciences, made possible by dedicated translators. She emphasized that without the award, many of these contributions would remain unknown.

The nominations for the 11th season of the Sheikh Hamad Award opened on January 1 and will continue until March 31, 2025. This year’s award is divided into two tracks: the first for individual book translations between Arabic and (German, Turkish, and English), and the second for achievements in both primary and secondary languages. Awards for ac
hievements this year are dedicated to translations between Arabic and the primary languages (English, German, and Turkish), as well as between Arabic and secondary languages such as Albanian and Thai.