Three Kuwaitis awarded at Arab cultural youth forum
KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti poet, an artist and a story-writer were decorated on Friday at the Arab cultural youth forum, organized by the Public Authority for Youth (PAY) as part of Kuwait Capital of Arab Youth celebrations. Abdullah Al-Failakawi, of Kuwait, won the top award of classical Arabic poetry competition, while the second and third awards went to Egypt’s Ahmad Jamal and Morocco’s Ahmad Al-Herishi respectively. In the formative art contest, the top award went to Kuwaiti Omar Al-Dhefiri, the second to Khaled Al-Zahrani, of Saudi Arabia, and the third to Jawaher Al-Mana’i, of Qatar.
The top award of the short story writing went to Murad Al-Masari, of Morocco, the second to Kuwait’s Ghalia Al-Mane’ and the third to Mahmoud Al-Maleki, of Oman. The forum, held in synchronization with Kuwait’s 42nd International Book Fair, provided an opportunity for Arab youth to engage in the development of their societies, said Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi, director of PAY and head of the organizing committee. The forum was meant to highlight the creative talents of Arab youth and shed light on the contributions of pioneers of Arab cultural movement, Al-Mutairi said at the award ceremony. He noted that the hosting of the ceremony at Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center signaled the significance of cultural exchanges in bringing the Arab peoples close to each other. Mutairi thanked the participating youth from 11 Arab countries for contributing to the success of the event. Sheikha Dr Suad Al-Sabah, who attended the ceremony as guest of honor, was honored for her contributions to the literary movement, alongside with the celebrated novelist Ismail Fahad Ismail and Abdulrasould Salman, chairman of Kuwait Art Association. — KUNA