President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has honoured ten inspirational people whose selfless deeds have positively impacted the UAE group as a part of the twelfth version of the Abu Dhabi Awards. The ceremony passed off at Qasr Al Hosn in Abu Dhabi.
For the previous twenty years, the Abu Dhabi Awards has served as a nationwide platform that embodies the UAE’s journey of giving, selflessness, and appreciation impressed by the legacy of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and carried ahead beneath the management of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Abu Dhabi Awards reaffirms the deeply held perception that each act of generosity strengthens unity and social concord.
Since its inception, the Abu Dhabi Awards has honoured 110 people from 18 nationalities whose contributions span numerous fields, together with healthcare, volunteering, schooling, cultural preservation, environmental safety, and the empowerment of individuals of willpower. Coinciding with the 12 months of Group, the Awards continues to uphold its humanitarian mission in reflecting the UAE’s enduring values of concord and social accountability.
In the course of the ceremony, the inspiring tales of the honourees had been showcased, highlighting that giving just isn’t restricted by age, nationality, or occupation and represents a common human worth able to creating constructive change in society.
H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated the honourees and wished them continued success of their contributions to the UAE group and humanity at giant. The President additionally affirmed that honouring these people displays the nation’s dedication to recognising those that uphold integrity, unity, and social accountability.
The ceremony was attended by H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; H.H. Lt. Normal Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Inside; H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Affairs; H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Courtroom for Growth and Fallen Heroes’ Affairs; H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Courtroom for Particular Affairs; Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence; and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President, together with the households of the honorees, award companions, and supporters., together with the households of the honourees, a variety of previous Abu Dhabi Awards recipients, representatives of the Awards’ companions, and supporters.
This spherical’s Abu Dhabi Awards honoured ten distinguished people whose excellent contributions have enriched and uplifted the UAE group, together with:
Obaid Kenish Al Hameli
A businessman and philanthropist, Obaid Kenish Al Hameli has made vital contributions to group improvement and charitable work. Regardless of dropping his dad and mom at a younger age, he pursued his ambitions with willpower.
Al Hameli started as a subject information for oil exploration groups and was an early advocate encouraging youth within the Al Dhafra area to proceed their schooling. In 1998, he launched the Obaid Bin Kenish Al Hameli Award for Educational Excellence, the primary of its variety in Al Dhafra, which has helped increase instructional requirements throughout the area.
Moza Mohamed Al Hafiti
Moza Al Hafiti is a task mannequin in schooling with greater than twenty years of service as a trainer on the Zayed Academic Advanced in Dibba Al-Fujairah. She is understood for revolutionary contributions which have enhanced the training atmosphere and for her dedication to nurturing an knowledgeable, artistic era grounded in robust values.
Two of her most notable initiatives embrace the Interactive Digital Prayer Rug for educating prayer and a Digital Library launched through the COVID-19 pandemic. She has led quite a few instructional programmes to develop college students’ expertise, instil values, and prepare academics by voluntary workshops.
Extensively recognised for her affect, she was listed among the many Prime 50 nominees for the GEMS Training International Instructor Prize and has acquired main honours, together with the Khalifa Award for Training, the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Educational Efficiency, and the Sharjah Award for Academic Excellence.
Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi
Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi is an completed nationwide determine throughout quite a lot of fields, together with authorities, tradition, and philanthropy, whose journey of giving is deeply intertwined with the historical past of the nation.
Al Nuaimi has held a number of distinguished management positions, together with serving as Minister of State for International Affairs from 1977 to 1990 and later as Minister of International Affairs from 1990 to 2006, throughout which he performed a key function within the implementation of the UAE’s overseas coverage and the strengthening of its regional and worldwide presence. Earlier in his profession, he served as Undersecretary on the Ministry of Info and Tourism.
He additionally served as the primary Commissioner Normal of the Abu Dhabi Pavilion at Expo 1970 in Osaka, Japan, the place he represented the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. He performed a pivotal function in laying the groundwork for bilateral ties with Japan and in opening new avenues for political and financial cooperation between the 2 international locations. He efficiently secured the mandatory sources to ship a exceptional pavilion that proudly represented the Emirate.
Along with his distinguished authorities service, Al Nuaimi is well-known for his dedication to the group and his dedication to humanitarian and charitable initiatives. Amongst his most notable contributions are the institution of the Rashid Centre for Diabetes and Analysis in 2010 and the Rashid bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi Charitable Basis in 2012.
Al Nuaimi has additionally made vital contributions to the cultural subject. He authored what’s extensively thought of to be the primary trendy Emirati novel, Shahenda, in 1971, and his e book Zayed: From the Metropolis of Al Ain to the Presidency of the Union is a crucial nationwide reference that paperwork features of the life and legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The late Mohamed Ibrahim Obaidallah
A nationwide determine whose life was outlined by generosity, kindness, and repair to others, the late Mohamed Ibrahim Obaidallah devoted his efforts to humanitarian and charitable work and to advancing healthcare within the UAE. Notably, he based the Obaidallah Geriatric Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah in 2009, the primary specialised hospital of its variety within the nation.
He additionally performed a key function in creating healthcare amenities, together with the Dialysis Centre in Ras Al Khaimah and the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical procedure Centre at Rashid Hospital in Dubai. His philanthropy prolonged to schooling by scholarships and help for college kids in want.
A founding member of Beit Al Khair Society, he championed medical, aid, and improvement programmes that improved healthcare for a lot of. His honours embrace the UAE President Appreciation Award (2012), the UAE Pioneers Award (2017), and the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences (2009).
He handed away in 2025, leaving a robust instance of generosity, compassion, and humanitarianism.
Salem Hamad Al Mansoori and Fatima Majed Al Mansoori
Following the passing of their five-year-old daughter Zahia, dad and mom Salem and Fatima Al Mansoori selflessly selected to show their profound grief into seeds of hope and new life for others by a humanitarian choice that displays the generosity deeply rooted in Emirati society.
In a gesture of immense compassion, the Al Mansoori household determined to donate their daughter Zahia’s organs, a brave act that saved the lives of three individuals, together with two kids and an grownup, each inside the UAE and overseas.
As the primary Emirati household to take this noble step, Salem and Fatima Al Mansoori’s choice has set a exceptional precedent, contributing to higher public consciousness of the UAE’s Hayat organ donation programme whereas demonstrating how loss could be become hope and the way one courageous act can assist others and depart a constructive affect on society.
By way of their inspirational actions, the Al Mansoori household embodies a permanent message of selflessness, and their story is a testomony to the best values of humanity and a reminder that true generosity can dwell on, even after one’s passing.
Hamama Obaid Khamis
Born in Al Dhaid, Hamama Obaid Khamis realized conventional therapeutic from her dad and mom and devoted her life to serving her group by natural cures, cauterisation remedy, and conventional midwifery.
For greater than seven many years, she welcomed 1000’s of sufferers into her house from throughout the Emirates and the area. She provided care with out looking for cost, believing that therapeutic is each a humanitarian mission and a social obligation. Earlier than the unfold of recent hospitals, she practiced as a midwife and helped ship many kids. By way of generosity, ability, and devotion, Hamama embodies the noblest values of service and giving.
Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal
Abdulmonem Alserkal is a number one Emirati cultural determine who has enriched the humanities and tradition panorama within the UAE and the broader area.
His ardour for tradition and the artistic arts took form in Dubai’s Al Quoz with the founding of Alserkal Avenue, one of many area’s foremost cultural districts, house to galleries, efficiency areas, artistic establishments, and a vibrant hub for dialogue and innovation.
In 2019, he established the Alserkal Arts Basis, a non-profit organisation supporting artists, researchers, and college students by instructional programmes, grants, and residencies, additional cementing Dubai and the UAE’s place as a worldwide vacation spot for artwork and creativity.
Alserkal has served on advisory boards of main worldwide establishments, together with Tate and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Basis. His honours embrace the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and the UAE Medal for Tradition and Creativity in recognition of his excellent contributions to the cultural sector.
The late David Heard
The late David Heard is intently related to the trendy historical past of the UAE. Within the Sixties, he labored as an engineer in Abu Dhabi’s oil sector, serving to develop the business alongside Emirati colleagues and contributing to the foundational strategic insurance policies that formed the nation’s vitality subject.
Past his skilled achievements, Heard quietly devoted himself to documenting the UAE’s transformation from a pearl diving financial system to a contemporary, affluent nation. A passionate historian and creator, he wrote a number of notable works on the historical past of the UAE and the event of the area’s oil business.
Out of his deep affinity for the UAE and its individuals, he generously donated to New York College Abu Dhabi’s library greater than 440 archival models, collected over greater than 50 years. Heard handed away in 2024, leaving a legacy in schooling, cultural alternate, and the preservation of the UAE’s historical past.
The late Sultan Ali Al Owais
The late Sultan Ali Al Owais was a famend patron of tradition and philanthropy whose life and sources had been devoted to tradition, data, and charitable work within the UAE and the area.
Believing in tradition’s function in advancing creativity and studying, he based the Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award in 1987, immediately one of many Arab world’s most prestigious literary prizes, honouring lots of of writers and intellectuals.
His generosity prolonged to humanitarian and improvement initiatives, together with the institution of faculties and hospitals and tangible help for schooling and healthcare regionally and regionally. He additionally contributed to nationwide infrastructure by funding 5 main dams in Fujairah and Ajman that proceed to provide water for farmers.
In 1996, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan awarded him the Order of Zayed for his nationwide and cultural service.
Al Owais handed away in 2000. In June 2025, UNESCO celebrated the centenary of his start, recognising his distinguished affect on Emirati and Arab tradition and literature and his embodiment of UNESCO’s values of tradition and human identification.
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak
Over the previous twenty years, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak has made notable contributions to the developmental journey of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. In each place he has held, he has exemplified the values of dedication, service to the nation, professionalism, and integrity, representing the UAE with distinction and setting a robust instance for present and future generations.
As an influential UAE authorities policymaker and worldwide enterprise chief, Al Mubarak continues to help the nation’s broader targets of sustainable financial improvement and diversification, reflecting the UAE’s dynamic society and financial system. By way of his management, Al Mubarak oversees quite a few strategic tasks and initiatives that contribute to advancing the UAE management’s imaginative and prescient throughout numerous sectors, together with strategic worldwide relations, the financial system, funding, infrastructure, vitality, schooling, healthcare, superior expertise, and synthetic intelligence.
Along with his extremely regarded skilled accomplishments, His Excellency has served as an empowering chief, demonstrating the values of dedication, care, and respect. Throughout the organisations that he leads, His Excellency fosters a tradition of help and excellence, inspiring others to carry out at their finest and nurturing a brand new era of gifted professionals dedicated to carrying the UAE’s pioneering imaginative and prescient ahead.
Amongst a broad vary of tasks, Al Mubarak presently serves as Managing Director and Group CEO of Mubadala Funding Firm, a place he has held because the firm’s inception in 2002. He’s additionally Chairman of the Government Affairs Authority and has served as a member of the Abu Dhabi Government Council since 2004. Al Mubarak chairs and serves as a member on a number of nationwide and worldwide boards and better committees, reflecting his in depth and numerous portfolio.
Al Mubarak embodies Emirati management by reworking ambition into achievement, problem into alternative, and concepts into actuality, thereby contributing to the nation’s continued development and prosperity.
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