Mayed unveils Media Award with AMG and Infinity

Arab Media Group (AMG), the largest media organisation in the UAE, and Dubai Infinity Holdings, a Dubai-based investment company, today announced the launch of the Sheikh Mayed bin Mohammed Media Award, to encourage the participation of the UAE’s youth in the country’s media sector.

Open to entries in both English and Arabic, the award will recognise outstanding work in radio, television and print media, with prizes totalling Dh1 million.

The winner in each category will receive Dh200,000, while the second and third place entries will be awarded Dh75,000 and Dh50,000 respectively. As an incentive to the public for helping identify deserving winners, an additional Dh25,000 will be distributed equally among five randomly selected voters.

Following the directives of Sheikh Mayed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured above, right), AMG has been tasked with the implementation of the award, leveraging the group’s advertising, television, radio and print entities.

Abdullatif Al Sayegh (pictured above, left), CEO of AMG said: “This award comes from Sheikh Mayed to give nationals an opportunity to show their skills in television, radio and print media fields. With the boom that the country is witnessing in all the fields, there is need for young and strong media people to achieve the planned targets. We also believe media is the base of development of all sectors.”

Al Sayegh added there are many young nationals who are not media graduates, but are still instinctively media inclined. This award is an opportunity for them to show what they are capable of achieving. “We are very proud to participate in an initiative that reflects our commitment to draw more nationals into the UAE media. As one of the largest media groups in the Middle East, we pursue a two-fold strategy, not just to encourage industry specific skills among youth, but also to help them unleash their creative potential to drive the future of the media in this country.”

Khadija Al Marzouqi, General Manager of AMG’s Shoof TV and Chair of the Award Organising Committee, said: “Our goal is to optimise the awareness about the award and highlight its objectives to the best of our abilities.”

The best 15 works in each category, selected by an eminent jury panel, will be featured in the local media. Gulf Radio will air shortlisted entries in the radio category, videos will be broadcast on www.shooftv.com.

Nominated print entries will be published in Emarat Al Youm newspaper, following which the public will be given an opportunity to vote for the top three winners in each category through text messages.

Samira Abdul Razzak, Executive Chairman, Dubai Infinity Holdings – exclusive sponsor of the award – said: “As an organisation that is constantly in pursuit of sustained excellence and distinction, we are keen to support initiatives that promote these qualities in UAE society. Media excellence is the hallmark of a knowledge-driven society, which the UAE is fast becoming. We are very pleased to support the Sheikh Mayed bin Mohammed Media Award, and wish all participants great success.”