President Sheikh Mohamed presented the Abu Dhabi Awards to 10 UAE residents on Thursday in recognition of their contributions to the UAE community.
Sheikh Mohamed personally handed the awards to the recipients during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the initiative, launched in 2005 to celebrate acts of goodness and selflessness. Since its inception, the Abu Dhabi Award has honoured 110 people from 18 nations who have made a lasting positive effect on society.
The 20th awards were held to highlight the inspiring stories of the nominees who “reinforced the culture of giving and solidarity, and confirmed that giving is not linked to age, profession or a specific category, but is a human value capable of making a positive change in society”, the state news agency Wam reported.
This year’s winners include a dedicated schoolteacher who has transformed the lives of her students and the late author and oil executive David Heard, whose long-standing service and commitment to the UAE community left a profound legacy.
“We celebrate the makers of goodness and hope, and express our appreciation to everyone who instils the values of goodness and contributes to strengthening the spirit of co-operation, giving, and shared social responsibility that characterises the UAE society,” said Sheikh Mohamed, reported Wam.
This year's winners also include the businessman and philanthropist Obaid Kenish Al Hameli, teacher Moza Mohamed Al Hafiti, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi, and the late Mohamed Ibrahim Obaidallah, who founded the Obaidallah Geriatric Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah.
Salem Hamad Al Mansoori and Fatima Majed Al Mansoori received awards. Following the death of their five-year-old daughter Zahia, they donated her organs. This was “a courageous act that saved the lives of three people, including two children and an adult, both within the UAE and abroad”, Wam reported.
Another winner was Hamama Obaid Khamis, who dedicated her life to serving her community “through herbal remedies, cauterisation therapy and traditional midwifery”. Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal received the award for “enriching the arts and culture landscape in the UAE and the wider region”.
The late Mr Heard, who is closely associated with the history of the UAE, was also among the winners. He wrote notable works on the history of the UAE and the development of the region’s oil industry.
An award was posthumously given to Sultan Ali Al Owais, “a renowned patron of culture and philanthropy whose life and resources were dedicated to culture, knowledge and charitable work in the UAE and the region”.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company, received an award for his “notable contributions to the developmental journey of Abu Dhabi and the UAE”.
