His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Emiri Decree No. 19 of 2017 regarding the establishment and organization of the Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage. The decree stipulated that an international award shall be established in the emirate called: “Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage”, which shall have a legal personality and the necessary capacity to act within the limits of its objectives in accordance with the provisions of this decree. The award’s headquarters shall be in the Emirate of Sharjah, and branches and offices may be established inside and outside the emirate by a decision of the Board of Trustees of the award. The award aims to achieve the following: 1- Appreciating the meticulous efforts made at the local, Arab and international levels in the field of preserving and documenting elements of cultural heritage and ensuring their continuity. 2- Instilling a spirit of fair competition among those interested in and working in scientific and field research in the field of cultural heritage. 3- Valuing cultural heritage preservation practices and crowning the most worthy of them in accordance with internationally approved standards in this field. 4- Honoring human treasures and noting their role in the field of transferring experiences and knowledge, and introducing oral narration techniques and the role of narrators. The decree also stipulated that the award shall be granted in the following areas: 1- Best practices in preserving cultural heritage. 2- Narrators and heritage bearers / living human treasures /. 3- Researchers in the field of cultural heritage. According to the decree, the Ruler of Sharjah may, based on the proposal of the Board of Trustees of the award, add other related areas in which the award shall be granted. With regard to organizing the work of the award, the decree stipulated that it shall have a Board of Trustees consisting of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, and a number of competent and specialized members, and their appointment shall be issued by an administrative decision from the Ruler of Sharjah or his representative. Regarding the powers of the Board, according to what is stated in the articles of the decree, it is considered the highest authority competent to manage the award and has the powers to set controls and supervision in accordance with the achievement of its objectives. To this end, it may exercise the following powers: 1- Drawing up the general policy for the award’s activities. 2- Setting the criteria for granting the award. 3- Nominating the members of the arbitration committee. 4- Preparing the annual budget and final account of the award and submitting them to the Government Relations Department to take the necessary action. 5- Preparing the financial and administrative system and organizational regulations and submitting them to the Government Relations Department to take the necessary action. 6- Proposing the general guide for the award, its periodicity, categories, conditions and nomination mechanism and submitting them to the Government Relations Department for approval. 7- Forming permanent and temporary committees and defining their competencies according to the needs of the award’s work. 8- Submitting periodic reports on its work to the Government Relations Department.