KUWAIT- Three Kuwaiti smartphone applications were handed the 13th Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Informatics Award out of a total eight prizes, it was announced on Tuesday(May 6th,2014).
Kuwait Finder by the state Civil Service Commission, Al-Kitab Al-Sawti Al-Islamy (which translates as the Islamic Sound Book in English) by Kuwaiti Talal Marafi and Nabd by Kuwaiti company Waveline Media all took best smartphone application in an award ceremony on Tuesday.
The winners for best website included the Saudi Ministry of Health for its official website, two Egyptian websites, Fehrest by Mustafa Abdul Raof and Nafham by Mustafa Mustafa, AbudhabiEnv.ae, which is dedicated to creating a sustainable community, by Mohammed Saad from Syria and Yorwa, a search engine for Arabic proverbs and quotes, by Ali Salehi from Palestine.
Each of the winners will go home with prize money worth USD 15,000.
His Highness the Amir’s sponsorship of the award and the support granted by Chief of Staff of the Kuwait National Guard Sheikh Salem Al-Ali was hailed by board member Saleh Al-Assousi as having taken it to new regional and international heights.
He described the award as an independent non-profit body and international modern project that is aimed at illustrating Kuwait’s commitment to innovators in the information technology industry, he added.
Organisers of the event have also launched another two competitions, one of which awards bloggers around the Arab world.
Meanwhile, this year’s competition has witnessed a huge influx of competitors for the best application category, according to member of the judges’ committee Hasan Al-Hammadi.
The panel included a total of eight judges from Kuwait, represented by academics and experts from Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Egypt and Tunisia.-KUNA