Nominations are now open for “Date Palm International Photography” competition in its 15th session, 2024, and “Date Palm International Poetry” competition in its 8th session, 2024.

Under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Chairman of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Board of Trustees, the Award’s General Secretariat announced opening candidature for the “Date Palm International Photography” competition in its Fifteenth session, 2024. Professional photographers, and photography lovers from all over the world are invited to participate in this international competition, which is held in appreciation of the date palm tree and to enhance the role of photographers in enriching a places’ memory and reviving its environmental heritage. The Award’s General Secretariat also announced opening candidature for the “Date Palm International Poetry” competition in its 8th session, 2024. Where poets from all Arab countries are invited to participate in this international competition, in appreciation of the date palm tree, and accepting Arabic poetry in both dialects (Nabati and El Fasih). As it is an important mean that embraces developing the public’s awareness on the importance of the date palm tree in terms of heritage, agriculture, food and economy, and in strengthening the role of poetry in enriching a place’s memory and reviving its agricultural heritage.

This came in a press statement made by Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Secretary General, and highlighting the great success achieved in the past sessions, as this is reflected in the significant increase in the number of participants from around the world and the quality of the participations received.

The two competitions come under the directives of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, aiming to help strengthen the human relationship with the date palm tree, where this reflects the unlimited support of His Excellency for the blessed tree by employing the art of photography, and Arabic poetry to develop public awareness of the importance of the date palm tree, and creating a space for the exchange of cultures from across the world, also added Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid.

Regarding the categories and awards of the two competitions, the Award’s Secretary-General indicated that the “Date Palm International Photography” competition consists of two categories: (Date Palm Category) and (Date Palm Handicrafts Category), where the “Date Palm International Poetry” competition consists of two categories also: (El Fasih Poetry) and (Nabati Poetry), as for the winners’ awards of the two competitions, they are as follows: the First place winner in each category receives an amount of 15,000 Emirati Dirhams, the Second place winner in each category receives an amount of 10,000 Emirati Dirhams, and the Third place winner in each category receives an amount of 5,000 Emirati Dirhams, in addition to an appreciation certificate, and a trophy.  Moving on to the evaluation mechanism, an international committee of experts in photography and poetry evaluate the received participations, where the deadline for receiving photos is the 31^st of December, 2023, exclusively through the dedicated website (https://www.datepalmphoto.com/), while the deadline for receiving poems is the 31st of December, 2023, exclusively through the dedicated website (https://www.datepalmpoetry.com/). The winners of the competitions will be announced during February, 2024.