ABU DHABI // Nominations have opened for the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards for 2016-2017.
Now in its 11th year, the awards recognise individuals who have made significant contributions to culture and literature, reported state news agency Wam..
Nominated books must have been published in the last two years and not have been already been awarded another international or Arab prize.
They must be written in Arabic, except in the ‘Translation’ and the ‘Arabic Culture in Other Languages’ categories.
Nominations close on 1 October. Winners in the eight categories receive Dh750,000 each while the cultural personality of the year winner gets Dh1 million.
For more details visit zayedaward.ae
newsdesk@thenational.ae
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
AIR
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