The AED500,000 Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (SIARA), has announced the extension of nomination submission deadline for the 2021 edition to November 15, 2020. Each year, award to is granted to an institution and individual working locally across Asia and Africa in recognition of their exceptional humanitarian contributions to alleviate the sufferings of refugees and vulnerable populations.

The number of requests by humanitarian entities have prompted the organizers to extend the submissions deadline to enable more applicants to complete the formalities for the nomination procedure. All nominations for the award should be submitted directly on the TBHF website, https://tbhf.ae/nomination/ .

Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF)organizes the award in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The AED500,000 award money is a special contribution by TBHF and does not represent any share of the donations made to the foundation.

TBHF’s evaluation of nominees is based on tangible benefits and sustainable impact of humanitarian interventions, scope of work, objectivity, and transparency in service delivery ideology. Innovative practices that boost overall sustainability of programmes and project activities, gender sensitivity in planning and implementation of projects, and demonstrable ability to address humanitarian gaps, especially in emergency situations, are some of the other criteria that are considered while finalizing the winner of SIARA.

SIARA embodies the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of TBHF and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, to recognize key humanitarian contributions in refugee advocacy, support, and community building.

Since its inception, SIARA has evolved to become one of the most important global initiatives promoting awareness about sustainable humanitarian work and its impact on communities. Last year, TBHF expanded the scope of the award to include the entire African continent which hosts a large percent of the world’s 70.8 million forcibly displaced people.