News
The AECID Islamic Library is awarded with the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize of 2015
Palestinian intellectual Elias Sanbar receives an award in the same category.
January 21, 2016
MADRID
Chosen by an international jury of experts, they were awarded for their commitment to promoting the dissemination of Arab culture throughout the world, as UNESCO reports in a press release. The awards will be given to them in a ceremony taking place on the upcoming date of April 14 at the organization’s headquarters in Paris.
Containing over 100,000 works, the AECID Islamic Library, located in Madrid, has become an “essential reference in the field of Arab and Andalusian studies” and “promotes intercultural dialogue” through agreements with other libraries, and scientific and educational associations in the Arab world.
As for Elias Sanbar, age 68, he is “one of the most highly acknowledged Arab intellectuals,” a historian, essayist, journalist, writer and diplomat. His translation of works by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwich into French is considered one of his greatest contributions to the dissemination of Arab culture,” UNESCO points out.
Elias Sanbar, who was one of the founders of the Journal of Palestinian Studies in 1981, has been a permanent delegate ambassador for Palestine at UNESCO’s headquarters since 2012.
Created in 1998 at the initiative of the United Arab Emirates, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture acknowledges the work by important people and organizations which have worked to promote Arab culture around the world, selecting one from the Arab world and another from a non-Arab country each year.
Photo: AECID Islamic Library