Abu Dhabi, 18 October 2022: The Abu Dhabi Awards Organising Committee announced the introduction of a new nomination form for children, allowing them to recognise and nominate their community heroes ahead of the 31 October nomination deadline. 

 

The simplified form for the 11th edition is now available for download from the Abu Dhabi Awards website [link here]. The specially-commissioned new form includes creative space for drawings, writings or images of their nominees, and the Organising Committee confirms these entries will be assessed in the same way as all other nominations.

 

The Abu Dhabi Awards, held under the guidance and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, is a government initiative that honours unsung heroes who have selflessly dedicated their time to helping others and have positively impacted the nation. It is the Emirate’s highest civilian honour. 

 

To help drive engagement among children, on 5th October the Organising Committee also announced a collaboration with Emirates School Establishment, which includes the distribution of the children’s nomination form in more than 500 UAE schools.

 

In addition, the collaboration will feature a series of introductory sessions in a number of UAE schools with the aim of promoting awareness of the Abu Dhabi Award, its values and its honorees. 

 

The children can also write a thank you letter to the person they are nominating, as well as record a video describing in only three sentences why they are nominating that person without revealing their name. Alternatively, students can record a video with a family member or friend, highlighting which of their qualities best represents the values of the Awards.

 

Participating schools have a chance to be awarded ‘Most Engaged School’ in a nationwide competition, with another prize for ‘Best School Activities Coordinator’ going to the most outstanding student.

 

His Excellency Dr. Yahya Al Ansari, Acting Executive Director of School Development Sector at the Emirates School Establishment, stressed the entity's keenness to always participate in awards and initiatives that enhance students’ positive moral values. This has been realised through recent collaborations with the Abu Dhabi Awards where students were encouraged to nominate their unsung heroes.  Students were inspired through Abu Dhabi Awards recipients that have positively impacted the UAE’s communities.

 

His Excellency indicated that the establishment works in cooperation with all local authorities in UAE, including the Abu Dhabi Awards, in order to instil the values of giving and highlight the rewards of volunteerism.  This is in line with the establishments overarching educational goals which focus on the importance of community service as well as fostering opportunities for giving back to the community.

 

His Excellency praised the great work achieved by the Abu Dhabi Awards to date and the high esteem by which it is regarded.  Progress of societies is recognised and celebrated when highlighting the values the awards embodies as well as the importance of being socially responsible.

 

Amal Al Ameri, member of the Abu Dhabi Awards Organising Committee, said: “Today’s children are tomorrow’s community leaders. We are delighted to be including young citizens and residents in this year’s nomination process and teaching them the values of community spirit and selflessness from an early age. The new forms will help us achieve that goal.

 

“I am also pleased to announce our collaboration with Emirates Schools Establishment, which will be instrumental in expanding the footprint of Abu Dhabi Awards awareness and helping us champion this important civilian honour to thousands of students across the nation. We look forward to receiving their nominations.”

 

Since its inception, the Abu Dhabi Awards has garnered over a quarter of a million nominations, representing 135 nationalities. Previous award recipients have made valuable contributions in a myriad of fields including healthcare, education, environment, as well as the preservation of the UAE and Abu Dhabi heritage.  

 

The Abu Dhabi Awards recognise contributions from anyone working to improve UAE society, regardless of their age, gender, nationality, or place of residency. The single and only criteria that nominees must fulfill is to have made a positive contribution to the community of the UAE.