Abu Dhabi Awards: your chance to nominate an unsung hero

The awards are open to all people regardless of age or nationality

Inventor Fatima Al Kaabi was honoured in the 2017 Abu Dhabi Awards Khushnum Bhandari / The National

People are being urged to seize the chance to honour Abu Dhabi’s unsung heroes.

The call came on Monday at the launch of the Abu Dhabi Awards – the emirate’s highest civilian honour.

The awards pay tribute to people of any age or nationality who have sought to build a better emirate, whether they reside in the UAE or live elsewhere.

Previous winners include an American doctor, Emirati generals, a French photographer and even a Canadian schoolboy. Cameron Oliver, 12, was praised in 2008 for raising awareness about the plight of camels that swallow discarded plastic.

On Monday, Eisa Al Subousi from the awards committee said the programme was about giving something back.

“We look forward to empowering citizens and residents with the opportunity to give back to their communities,” he said. “Something that couldn’t be more fitting of the spirit of the awards.”

People can visit the website to make a nomination until December 31 and any good deed – big or small – will be considered.

Winners receive a trophy and a medal. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

First held in 2005, the awards now take place every two years. Eighty people of 16 nationalities have received them so far.

Emirati inventor Fatima Al Kaabi won in 2017 when she was just 16. One of her prototypes was a safe steering system that sends an alert if a car driver’s hands stay off the wheel for longer than 15 seconds. Another was a solar backpack that charges electronic devices.

“I’ve been inspired by so many recipients and I just didn’t see it coming,” the high school pupil said on Monday of her win.

“I never thought my contributions would be considered. The awards create role models and can inspire other people.”

Al Kaabi will start university at Virginia Tech in the US this autumn and wants to study engineering and artificial intelligence.

“I’m not going to say artificial intelligence will take over the world, but it is going to control so many things. We need to create good systems,” she said.

Another winner is Theban Al Mheiri. Mr Al Mheiri was paralysed from the waist down after a car accident in 1994 but went on develop the UAE’s Paralympic sports teams.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Mr Al Mheiri, of the moment he learnt he had won in 2017. “I was shocked. But it is very important to work for the community.”

Those who made a contribution in the early days have also won. British national Susan Hillyard arrived in Abu Dhabi with her daughter, Deborah, and husband, Tim, in 1954. Tim Hillyard worked for British Petroleum and his wife's book, Before the Oil, traces a long-lost world of kerosene-powered fridges, dugong stew and palm-frond huts. She was honoured posthumously in 2015.

This aerial shot of Al Maqta Bridge, Abu Dhabi, was taken by Alain Saint-Hilaire in 1975. The French photographer won an Abu Dhabi Award in 2011 for his portrayal of the emirate’s development over several years Alain Saint-Hilaire

French photographer Alain Saint-Hilaire is another. He visited all seven emirates over the course of several visits here from the 1960s on. His photographs of traditional fishing fleets, the beginnings of the E11 road between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the vast new construction projects across the emirate capture a place rooted in tradition yet also on the move. Saint-Hilaire won in 2011.

Organisers are to hold a series of events across the emirate between now and the end of the year to raise awareness about the process. After nominations close, the entries will be whittled down to a shortlist before a committee of dignitaries, government officials and industry leaders decide on the winners.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, will honour the winners at the ceremony, set for early next year.