KUWAIT- Folklore Thesaurus by Dr. Mustafa Jad from Egypt won the Arab Heritage Prize 2014, established by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), it was announced Sunday(May 11th).
Second place went to Dr. Al-Saeed Saber Al-Masri, also from Egypt, on his work “Popular heritage production … How the poor hang on to life overshadowed by scarcity,” while the third prize was split between Palestine and Saudi Arabia. Some 56 works from all over the Arab world competed for the prize.
The prize, established in 2012, aims at rewarding outstanding Arab achievements and model works in the realm of tangible and intangible heritage preservation.
The announcements came during the award-giving ceremony held earlier today, and attended by Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah and ALECSO Director General Dr. Abdullah Al-Mhareb.
In a speech at the event, Al-Mhareb called for preserving Arab cultural heritage, which is distinguished with richness and diversity among its components.
On his part, Secretary General of the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters Ali Al-Youha said that heritage “is like a tree’s roots, the further it grows, the deeper and stronger the roots become.” He pointed out that what have been gathered, published and studied of Arab heritage is still “little” compared to what have been piling up throughout history, calling at the same time for efforts to be exerted in this regard in order to serve and preserve culture.-KUNA