Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding Organizes an Introductory Tour in Brazil

The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding organized a number of cultural meetings and events in the Federal Republic of Brazil, as part of a tour by the Award's media team to introduce the award, on the occasion of the selection of the Portuguese language among the languages of the next edition, which is the second time that Portuguese has been included in the languages of the award.

The delegation of the Award met over two days with representatives of various cultural and academic institutions, as well as translators, publishers, researchers and media professionals, to introduce the Award, its categories and objectives, and to discuss ways to support the translation movement between Arabic and Portuguese and encourage various relevant institutions and productive individuals to participate in the next session of 2027, where it is planned to open for nomination and nomination on January 1 and close on March 31, 2027.

The choice of Portuguese for the second time after 2019 comes in line with the remarkable accumulation of translated works between the two languages in recent years, especially from publishers and translators from Brazil, in addition to the fact that this country is one of the largest countries speaking this language.

In this context, a joint meeting was held at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, with the participation of Arab House, the Institute of Arab Culture (ICArabe), the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), representatives of publishing houses and cultural institutions, as well as a number of academics, translators and media professionals.

Mr. Labib Al-Nahhas, Executive Director of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding, explained the award's system, starting with the mechanism of selecting languages in each session, through its categories and judging criteria, to the nomination procedures.

He stopped at the most prominent stations of the award since its establishment, and the international presence it has achieved by honoring translators and institutions from various continents.

He stressed that the award aspires to reach more languages with cultural heritage, and to remain an international platform that appreciates the work of the translator and his role in bringing peoples together, pointing out at the same time, that the renewal of languages from one cycle to another opens the door to translators from different cultures, enriches the Arabic library with works of world literature, and carries the Arabic product to new readers.

Mr. Abdulrahman Al Marri, Media Officer at the Award, pointed to the long-standing ties between Arab and Brazilian cultures, recalling that Arab immigrants have contributed to the social, cultural and economic life of Brazil for more than a century, which gives translation between the two languages a solid ground. He called on translators to submit their work during the nomination period, considering that the participation of Brazilian publishing houses, universities and research centers will give the Portuguese translation a stronger presence in the next edition and shed light on what has been achieved in this field.

For her part, Ms. Silvia Antivas, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce and the Arab House, gave an overview of the role of the two institutions in strengthening the cultural and economic ties between Brazil and the Arab world.

Ms. Natalia Calfat, an official at the Institute of Arab Culture, also introduced the Institute and its activity in presenting Arab culture to the Brazilian public.

For her part, Ms. Cristina Queiroz presented a project to recover, digitize and translate Arabic documents and books, which seeks to preserve the written legacy left by Arab immigrants in Brazil and make it available to researchers, in order to preserve part of the memory of the Arab presence in the country.

Dr. Safaa Gibran, a former winner of the award, recalled her experience in translating Arabic literature into Portuguese, and spoke about the impact of the win on her career, and its role in drawing attention to the efforts of Brazilian translators abroad.

At the University of São Paulo, researcher Maria Carolina gave a presentation on the reality of translation between Arabic and Portuguese in Brazil, in which she reviewed the achievements made, the existing difficulties and possible ways to develop this field.

The University of São Paulo is one of the most prominent universities in Latin America, and the Department of Oriental Languages occupies an important position in the teaching of Arabic and its literature.

It is worth mentioning that the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding is one of the most prominent independent international awards in the field of translation, and since its inception in 2015, it continues to fulfill its mission of honoring translators as builders of bridges between cultures, and improving and intensifying the performance of translation to and from the Arabic language on scientific and methodological grounds.

The award seeks to improve the quality of translation and Arabization, enhance the presence of the Arabic language in the global knowledge scene, and support individual and institutional efforts that serve understanding between peoples through translation as an indispensable civilizational and humanitarian tool.

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