Qatar - Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation, International Understanding announces 7th edition winners

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA

Doha - The sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding announced on Wednesday the winners of the 7th edition of the award amid a strong competition with the participation of individuals and institutions concerned with translation from 32 countries.

The names of the winners were announced via the award's digital platforms. The total value of the award is USD2,000,000, divided into three categories: Translation Prizes USD800,000, Achievement Prizes USD1,000,000, and Prize for International Understanding USD200,000.

The second prize in the category of translation from English into Arabic was awarded to Muin Rumiyah for the translation of Dictionary of the Social Sciences edited by Craig Calhoun, after blocking the first prize for this category, while the third prize was won by Jamal Ibrahim for the translation of The American Pragmatists by Cheryl Misak.

In the category of translation from Arabic into English, the second prize was granted to Ovamir Anjum for the translation of 'Ranks of the Divine Seekers' by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. The first and second prizes were not awarded.

In the category of translation from Chinese into Arabic, the first prize was shared by Yara Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al Masry for the translation of 'al hubb fi al qarn al jadid' by Can Xue and Israa Abd Al Sayyid Hasan Muhammad Hajar for the translation of 'encyclopedia of Chinese history' edited by Zhang Qizhi, while the third prize went to Hasanayn Fahmi Husayn for the translation of 'Chinese Food Culture' by Xie Dingyuan. The second prize was not awarded.

The first prize in the category of translation from Arabic into Chinese was awarded to Ge Tieying (Mahir) for the translation of 'al-Bukhalaa' by Al Jahiz, while the second prize went to Wang Fu (Faridah) for the translation of 'Tawq al Hamam' by Rajaa Alim.

The achievement award in Chinese translation went to the Chinese researcher and author Li Zhenzhong (Ali) for Bayt Al Hikmah Group for Culture (Egypt). The achievement awards in Urdu went to Muhammad Tufayl Hashimi and Abd Al Kabir Muhsin. The achievement awards in Amhara were granted to Al-Najashi for Publishing and Distribution and the Ethiopian diplomat and translator Hasan Taju Legas. The achievement award in the Dutch language was won by Richard van Leeuwen. The achievement awards in Modern Greek went to Persa Koumoutsi and the Egyptian translator Khalid Rauf.

The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation granted its translation encouragement Award to the Jordanian translator and poet Usama Ghawji and Professor of Ancient History at King Saud University Fahad Mutlaq Al Otaibi. 

In a speech on this occasion, Secretary-General of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding Dr. Hassan Al Naama expressed thanks and gratitude of the Board of Trustees of the Award to its patron, HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who created it to be an addition and a commendable and beautiful deed for the sake of culture and peace in the world.

Dr. Al Naama stressed that the award represents a contribution from the State of Qatar in enriching heritage and human thought.

In a speech before announcing the names of the winners of the 7th edition, Media Advisor for the Award Dr. Hanan Al Fayyad said that the annual ceremony of the award has become a title of thought and culture, and a bridge of peace through which ideas and cultures cross. She pointed out that translation helps in replacing violence with peace and consolidating the principles of cleverness and balanced openness in place of shutdown and racism.

Dr. Al Fayyad explained that the translation derives its value from all the high moral, intellectual and artistic values that it entails, which require the translator to be a person of knowledge, awareness, and a lively conscience, adding that this is what makes the elaborate work of translation worthy of standing by them to honor their people who have dedicated themselves to providing translation projects worthy of being at the forefront of the global cultural scene.

She underlined that the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding pays attention to translation and honoring translators who provide knowledge in a noble human way.

Dr. Al Fayyad pointed out that the award, since its inception in 2015, drew the world's attention to the fact that what unites humanity more than what divides it, especially as it has been keen to absorb all the languages of the world, covering many languages from most continents of the world over the past seven years, and has strengthened the efforts of translators who translate from Arabic or to it, and it also surrounded many translation projects that were waiting for support and encouragement to continue their translation production in a way that strengthens the relationship between those languages and Arabic, so this season celebrated the Chinese language as a second main language besides English, Urdu, Greek, Amharic and Dutch, all competing in the category of achievement from Arabic and to it.

The 7th edition of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding witnessed strong competition, confirming its success in achieving its mission of cultural and knowledge communication at the global level.

In its current stage, the award is concerned with translations of works of a serious nature and the value of knowledge in its field of specialization.

Since its first session, the award encouraged translation from and into Arabic in more than one language, so the selection of an international language was chosen every year in addition to the English language. The Turkish language was chosen in the first edition, Spanish came in the second, French in the third, German in the fourth, Russian in the fifth, Persian in the sixth, and Chinese came for the seventh. (QNA)

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