3 categories and 9 awards worth up to 54 thousand US dollars The Sharjah Institute for Heritage launched (Monday, May 30, 2016) the Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage, which includes three categories in 3 fields: practices of preserving cultural heritage elements, narrators carrying heritage (living human treasures), and research and studies in cultural heritage. It includes 9 awards worth a total of 54 thousand US dollars and aims to contribute to honoring successful efforts and supporting inspiring initiatives in the field of preserving cultural heritage elements and ensuring their continuity, in addition to other goals. His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage and Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee of the Award, said during a press conference held (Monday, May 30, 2016) at the Institute’s headquarters that the award comes within the framework of the visions of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and in implementation of His Highness’s directives aimed at preserving Arab cultural heritage, spreading the values ​​of its preservation and methods of its preservation, and raising awareness among all segments of society about its importance and the necessity of its continuity. He pointed out that this award also comes from the Institute's belief in the importance of heritage as one of the most prominent elements of national identity and one of the effective means of communication between civilizations and nations, and in support of the Institute's role in expanding the scope of interest in cultural heritage and enabling it to achieve its goals, which include preserving elements of cultural heritage, honoring narrators and heritage bearers (living human treasures), and protecting their cultural stock in accordance with internationally applicable standards, particularly the various agreements issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He added that the vision of the award is based on its aspiration to create an environment that nurtures the sustainability of Arab cultural heritage, ensures its transmission to future generations, introduces human heritage, and supports cooperation in this field. He pointed out that the award works to appreciate the various skilled efforts made at the local, Arab and international levels in the field of heritage preservation and documentation and successful experiences in order to ensure its continuity and to spread the spirit of theoretical and applied scientific competition among those interested and working in the field of scientific and field research in preserving and documenting heritage. He stated that the award honors “living human treasures” and confirms the effective role of narrators who carry oral literary masterpieces, heritage knowledge and craft skills in preserving the cultural heritage of humanity and ensuring its continuity. For her part, Asmaa Al Suwaidi, Director of the Award, said that the award aims primarily to contribute to honoring successful efforts and supporting inspiring initiatives locally, regionally and internationally in the field of preserving cultural heritage elements and ensuring their continuity, in addition to enhancing cultural heritage preservation practices and crowning the most worthy of them according to UNESCO standards in this field, documenting heritage preservation practices and presenting them as models to be emulated in the world, supporting practices and initiatives that work to ensure the continuity of cultural heritage and its transmission from one generation to the next, honoring narrators (living human treasures) and noting their role in the field of transferring experiences and knowledge, identifying oral narration techniques and heritage knowledge, and crowning the best research and academic efforts in the field of intangible cultural heritage. She pointed out that the award’s jury includes an elite group of specialists, academics and researchers in the world of heritage. She explained that the award’s organizing committee will hold a number of workshops at the local, Gulf and international levels to promote the award and explain the conditions for applying for it and its importance in the field of heritage. Al Suwaidi stressed that the Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage is an award of appreciation with standardized scientific criteria that is granted to individuals, groups or projects. The main goal of the award is to appreciate the efforts made to preserve, protect and study cultural heritage and ensure its continuity through the applications of these efforts in the fields of practices of preserving cultural heritage elements, narrators and heritage bearers (living human treasures), and research and studies in cultural heritage.