ABU DHABI // The future belongs to those who love books and those who love knowledge, Lebanese-born French author Amin Maalouf told the audience at the Sheikh Zayed Book Award ceremony on Sunday.
Maalouf, who accepted the Cultural Personality of the Year Award, said books helped to build hope and self-belief – “belief that the future is not only for others, but is also for us, for our children and our daughters.
“The future belongs to all those who love science, knowledge, arts, literature – to all those who love knowledge and creativity and innovation.” Maalouf was one of seven authors, intellectuals and publishers who won at the 10th annual awards.
Emirati Dr Jamal Al Suwaidi said he was honoured to have won the "contribution to the development of the nations" award for his book Al Sarab (The Mirage), published by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research.
The award meant a lot to him because it is named after Sheikh Zayed, said Al Suwaidi. “It’s close to my heart.”
Awards are presented to outstanding writers and thinkers whose works have enriched Arab cultural, literary and social life.
This year, 1,169 nominations from 33 countries were entered into the competition. The winners were selected by a panel of 300 experts and honoured on stage by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
They each received a gold medal bearing the award logo, a certificate of merit and a cash prize of Dh750,000 each, except Maalouf who was awarded Dh1 million.
Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, attended the ceremony and said the awards reflected the vision of Sheikh Zayed.
“Seeing a celebration that honours literature, that honours content creation in a region that is the birth of historical events, is so important,” said Ms Al Kaabi.
“I personally always believe that you can’t change the story that others perceive if you didn’t create a story. So, you know, we are creating stories and I hope to see more of that.”
Andre Gaspard, who accepted the publishing and technology award on behalf of his publishing house, Dar Al Saqi, said the award was very special.
“Although it has a big financial value, its biggest value by far is moral,” said Gaspard. “When you win, or even when you’re shortlisted, you are very happy that you have been noticed because it’s a very special prize. It’s the moral aspect of the award – it’s not just any prize.”
Dr Ali bin Tamim, secretary general of Sheikh Zayed Book Award, said the award built on the vision set by the Founding President, who paved the way for the UAE to develop into a knowledge economy.
Dr bin Tamim said it was a path followed by the President, Sheikh Khalifa, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who continued to devote “the unlimited support of culture, arts and thinking because these are the cornerstone of this country”.
“In Abu Dhabi, we believe that facing the big challenges starts from knowledge, and continues with science and culture and with enlightenment,” he said.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
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