IGCF: UAE astronaut Al Neyadi and ‘kindest’ judge Caprio honored in Sharjah

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, holder of the longest space mission in Arab history, which lasted six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), received the newly created “Personality of the Year” award.

During the ceremony, the ‘Best Positive Social Impact Driver’ award was presented to American Judge Frank Caprio, former Chief Judge of the Providence Municipal Court in the US, whose compassionate rulings made him a global viral sensation on the social media, earning him the reputation as “The Kindest Judge in the World.”

A film presentation at the event highlighted the paramount importance of recognizing and reverence efforts dedicated to the preservation of current resources, echoing the mission of the Sharjah Government Communication Award.

Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of SGMB, said: “Those who are familiar with Sharjah’s efforts to promote government communication to play a greater role in facilitating comprehensive and sustainable development, understand that this award embodies the emirate’s intentions. to improve standards first within the UAE, and then throughout the Arab region and the rest of the world.”

Allay noted that over the past 10 years, the SGCA has worked diligently to set higher standards in government communication practices while continually striving to provide models that contribute to overcoming challenges in various fields, including the economy, environment, society, health and others.

“It is our collective duty to formulate communication strategies that keep pace with changing information trends, technologies, public perceptions and aspirations and world events,” the Director General added.

Mohammed Jalal Al Raisi, Director General of the Emirates News Agency (WAM) and Chairman of the SGCA Jury Committee, thanked His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah , for being the main supporter of the initiatives. like SGCA, which serve the community and promote institutions.

Al Raisi said: “This edition of SGCA has successfully anticipated future transformations in government communication strategies and practices. It has also expanded its local and global reach. The award combines inclusion and specialization, as well as diversity in communication practices, making SGCA a leading international platform to identify the responsibility and power of communication to overcome global development challenges.”

Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the UAE Talent Competitiveness Council, won the “Best Spokesperson” category, while Dubai Customs won the “Best Government Communication Team” category.

In the “Best Integrated Communication Campaign” category, Abu Dhabi City Municipality was announced as the winner. Regarding the “Best Communication for Reputation Building and Management” category, the Dubai Police Force was announced as the winner.

The ‘Best campaign to celebrate Arabic culture’ includes two subcategories: the winner of the category ‘Best campaign in support of the Arabic language’ is the Sharjah Private Education Authority and the winner of the second category, ‘Best campaign to reinforce Arab values ​​and identity’. ‘ is the Holy Quran Academy in Sharjah. In the ‘Best Social Responsibility Campaign’ category, the winner is the National Housing Company (NHC) of Saudi Arabia.

The category ‘Best communication aimed at young people’ includes three subcategories. The winner of the first subcategory “Best communication program to support entrepreneurship and youth projects” is the Federal Youth Authority (FYA) under the Ministry of Culture and Youth. In the subcategory ‘Best campaign to make a positive impact on youth awareness and practices’, the winner is the National Center for the Non-Profit Sector of Saudi Arabia. Finally, in the subcategory “Best youth initiative in government communication”, the winner is the Youth Council of the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The global award categories have witnessed exceptional competition and attracted exceptional nominations from the region. In the “Best Communication Strategy for Crisis Management” category, the winner is the General Administration of Strategic Communication of the Saudi Ministry of Defense.

For the “Best Innovation in Government Communication” category, which comprises two sub-categories, the National Library and Archives (NLA) of the UAE, was announced as the winner of the first sub-category “Best Innovation in Government Communication”. Meanwhile, the winner of the second subcategory “Best Initiative within the Annual Youth Challenge” was “Team B” of the AI ​​Skills Camp.

In the “Best Food Security Program Communication Plan” category, the winner was the Sharjah Department of Agriculture and Livestock. In the category “Best communication initiative or media content to promote environmental awareness”, the winner was the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia (MEWA).

In the category “Best communication practices or campaigns that address development challenges”, the winner was the Sulaiman Bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi Charitable Foundation of Saudi Arabia.

The winner of the award in the “Best Communication Practices in Volunteering Campaigns” category is the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of Saudi Arabia. Regarding the category “Best communication through multimedia content”, the winner is Atnafas Creative Production from Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the winner of the “Best Applied Scientific Research in Government Communication” category is Ghada Saif Thabet.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) won the “Best Communication Strategy Using Sport” category, while the “Best Driver of Positive Social Impact” award was awarded to American judge Frank Caprio, former chief judge. of Providence Municipal Court. in the United States, whose compassionate rulings made him a global viral sensation on social media, earning him the reputation of “The Kindest Judge in the World.”

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, holder of the longest space mission in Arab history, which lasted six months aboard the International Space Station as part of Mission 69, received the newly created “Personality of the Year” award.

The winner of the “University Challenge”, organized in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), was also announced during the ceremony. The winning team was the “Sawab” team, from the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The SGCA jury committee was also honored during the ceremony for its efforts in evaluating works nominated for the award, followed by speeches from a selection of award winners.