There can be little doubt that we live in a world filled with many challenges, so many in fact that it is easy for otherwise conscientious and empathetic citizens to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of appeals on behalf of one good cause or another.
From sustaining peacebuilding efforts in seemingly intractable conflicts to campaigning about the myriad illnesses that blight the lives of millions of people around the globe, many worthy efforts to make our societies a better place can suffer from a lack of attention. This is not because they are unimportant but because our complex and turbulent times make it hard to focus.
This week in the UAE, the country’s annual $1 million humanitarian prize – the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity – sought to remedy this. On Monday, it was announced that an Afghan campaigner championing the rights of women and children to have an education in her homeland and the architects of a historic peace pact in the South Caucasus were this year’s winners.
Zarqa Yaftali was honoured for her vital work to provide educational resources, psychological support and other community services to more than 100,000 people in Afghanistan against the backdrop of strict Taliban rule. The Zayed Award – established after the late Pope Francis’s milestone visit to the UAE in 2019 – also recognised the signing of a deal late last year aimed at ending decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Awards for peace work or humanitarian causes can always generate differences of opinion; this is difficult to avoid in a format that is inherently competitive. Some will disagree with the choice of recipient or feel that more critical issues have been overlooked. But what the Zayed Award and others like it do, is highlight important problems and amplify the voices of those trying to find solutions to them.
By receiving respected awards, recipients can build more leverage and influence in their campaigning work. When it comes to fundraising or generating the impetus needed to push their efforts forward, an award can have an effect that lasts long after any presentation ceremony.
Critically, in a world where the media is often scrambling to keep on top of rapidly changing events, awards still draw international attention to recipients’ work. In the specific case of the Zayed Award, its focus on tolerance and co-existence is meaningful, especially given how these two values are often in short supply in today’s fractured world.
The UAE has a strong track record of recognising and championing those who are make their countries and communities a better place. Its Great Arab Minds Initiative celebrates those from the Arab world making a valuable contribution to humanity in such diverse fields as science, scholarship and the arts. Similarly, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award provides valuable support for writers and raises the profile of voices from across the Arab world and beyond.
The important point is that such awards are a means to end. Yes, recipients can rightly feel a sense of satisfaction at a job well done but by drawing our gaze to solutions rather than problems, they give a sense that no issue is so thorny that it cannot be resolved.
