DUBAI, 11 June 2003 — The ninth Dubai Shopping Festival, which will be held from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, 2004 under the slogan of “One Family, One World, One Festival”, has started inviting applications for the Ideal Arab Mother and Family Awards 2004.
The DSF office also announced that Saudi Research and Publishing Company, a leading publishing group in the region that publishes Arab News and a host of other newspapers and magazines, would be co-operating in promoting and publicizing the two awards in the group publications. “The association with the publication group will help the awards to propagate their integral message of good family values to as many families as possible within Arab society,” DSF said in a statement.
Saeed Mohammed Al-Nabouda, chief executive officer of DSF, said, “The Ideal Mother and Family Awards have succeeded in bringing together mothers and families everywhere in Arab society to showcase the true values of our society. These awards highlight the indispensable roles played by the mother and the family in creating a positive and productive society.”
He added that the co-operation with the Riyadh-based SRPC will facilitate a large participation from families and mothers.
Al Nabouda also said the Awards Committee would receive applications for the awards until Nov. 30, 2003.
Abdulaziz Jazzar, managing director of SRPC, said, “We are very proud to be associated with the Dubai Shopping Festival in promoting an award that makes every Arab citizen proud. It is also a privilege to cooperate with DSF given the importance of the two awards in the Arab society.
Jazzar also appreciated the significant role that the UAE played in field of humanity under the patronage of General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defense Minister.
Dr. Nadia Buhannad, co-ordinator of the two competitions explained, “The Ideal Mother and Family Awards enjoys an excellent reputation amongst Arab families across the world. Last year, we received more than 330 applications from families belonging to 18 diverse Arab nationalities including UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Morocco.
“In our society, mothers and families raise their children to build a progressive culture, and these awards are meant for any mother or family who might consider themselves ideal. Members of the family can also nominate the family or the mother for the award. The competition is open to all Arab families.”
To enter the competitions, the participants have to write a personal account of their achievements or uniqueness in an essay of less than five pages. The Ideal Arab Mother and the Ideal Arab Family will each receive $10,000.
The Ideal Arab Mother competition is open to women not less than 45 years of age. It will take into consideration four basic parameters: (1) Psychological Aspect which will dwell on the candidate’s personality and approach to life, (2) Social interaction which will assess her relationship with people around her, including neighbors, (3) Family ties, including relationship with husband, children and in-laws and (4) Approach to education: her own education as well as that of children (5) Religious criteria which looks at how the mother instilled religious values in her children during their upbringing, and (6) Mothers and families who have won the award cannot apply for the Award for five consecutive years from the year of winning the award.
UAE national Sheikha Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Ansari and Hassan Mahmoud Saeed’s family from Egypt were the winners of Ideal Mother and family awards 2003 respectively.
