His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, met Saturday afternoon, the winners of the third edition of the Sheikh Sultan Award for Celebrating the Spirit of Youth, at the Al Badi’e Palace Majlis.

During the reception, His Highness delivered a speech in which he congratulated the winners and called on them to continue to strive and practice the skills and activities that benefit them, pointing to the importance of this award. “This award is not only for honouring or encouraging some of you, but rather for raising this idea in society, as we are a society that develops with time, but with this rapid development, there are many things that others practice and know more about, and our society may be oblivious to, such as volunteering, activities, initiatives and skills,” His Highness said.

His Highness added, “This year, the number of participants stands at 900, and in the previous two editions the number was 600. What we seek to raise through these practices- be they activities and volunteering, is not only this number, but the community at large. And you, the winners, since you got the award, should be with us and encourage others. We want to raise this idea because volunteering is a feature of society, and society will not only succeed with laws and regulations, but also with the behaviour and personality of the citizens in this country, and we urge you to be models and invite others and urge them, and we will see after that the viability of a number of individuals turns into viability for society.”

Regarding the expansion of the award, His Highness said, “This batch opened the doors of the award to society, not to a limited group of people. We note that some of the winners are residents, and we are happy with their participation, which will contribute to the advancement of society.”

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah continued, “We say to the young men and women, give us a little of your time to practice sports, volunteering, adventures, etc., and you will first benefit a lot physically, intellectually, etc. When you win the Sheikh Sultan Award for Celebrating the Spirit of Youth, even the community and the neighbourhood will talk about your achievement and will be happy for you.”

During his speech, His Highness recalled the days of his childhood and youth, the extent of enthusiasm, joy and pleasure that winning prizes brings, and the extent of its reflection on the winner in elevating his personality and developing his skills which make him permanently an active participant, pointing to the positive atmosphere that preceded winning modest and simple prizes at that time when the values of cooperation and readiness to compete and win strongly rise, along with encouragement and a great moral boost from parents in moments of victory, which brings happiness to the hearts of young children for bringing joy and happiness to their parents.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah drew attention to the role of activities and volunteering in developing children’s self-confidence and improving their personalities and social intelligence, stressing that these areas are necessary in the period of study and youth, as they contribute to improving thinking skills, participation, good behaviour, innovation and meaningful dialogue, which makes those who practice it an example and a model for others.

His Highness concluded by advising the winners to continue to make efforts and practice what benefits them in all fields. His Highness also instructed those in charge of the award to upgrade it and strengthen their affiliation with it, while setting standards and conditions that contribute to making the participants practice activities and skills efficiently, not just registration, and preparing to deal with the large numbers of participants from the community.

Following His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah’s speech, the winner, Shamma Khalfan Al Kindi, gave a speech in which she expressed her thanks and gratitude to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and his wife, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, for their continuous care and support for their sons and daughters, pointing to the role of one of His Highness’s initiatives- a library in every home- which instilled in her a love of reading and knowledge and contributed to refining her personality and helping her to make plans to choose her university and future life path.

Na’ameh Obaid Al Ali, one of the winners, thanked His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for all the efforts made by His Highness to provide full care for the Sharjah community through facilities, institutions, initiatives, and others, explaining the great impact of these activities, which stimulated her to be involved in many activities including sports and various fields.

The winner, Saif Yaqoub Al Zarouni appreciated the continuous interest and care of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, which were reflected in such achievements by winning the award and other prizes that contribute to refining personalities and raising the level of aspirations to contribute to the elevation of the nation.

For his part, the winner, Salem Rashid Al Suwaidi, expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, for his kind meeting with the winners of the award that bears his name, pointing to a set of outputs that they acquired during participation in the award, including leadership, life, knowledge, and practical skills.

In this year’s edition of the Sheikh Sultan Award for Celebrating the Spirit of Youth, 19 young males and 42 females won the award, nine of whom won the gold medal, 22 won the silver medal, and 30 got the bronze medal.

The award, which is won by 61 young boys and girls in each new edition, urges young people to continue to excel in its various sections, even after completing the requirements for participation and winning the award, as young people realise the importance of this in developing themselves and their societies.

The Sheikh Sultan Award for Celebrating the Spirit of Youth, which His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah launched in February 2019, stems from His Highness’s belief in the great role that youth play in developing their countries and contributing to achieving the aspirations of their societies, by securing an optimal environment that enables them to discover and develop their energies and talents, and at the same time, it instills in them a culture of initiative, volunteerism, teamwork and competition on honourable moral grounds.

The message of the award is to appreciate the energies and capabilities of young people, motivate them to overcome life challenges and assume responsibilities, and enhance self-confidence and creativity. It includes three levels: golden, silver, and bronze, according to the requirements that the participant fulfills in four sections: adventure, volunteering, skills, and physical activities.

The award is the first of its kind in the region in terms of its positive cultural and social impact. It is based on motivating young people to unleash their latent capabilities and translate them into practical practices, and to consolidate concepts of cooperation, partnership and integration of roles, in a manner that contributes to building a generation of pioneers capable of making wise decisions and innovators in all fields of life.

The award aims to hone daily talents and skills, and strengthen the will of the country’s adolescents and youth, by taking on challenges of different levels in various fields, focusing on the importance of unleashing youth energies in several fields such as music, painting, sports, adventure and nature discovery, as they are major elements in the civilisational structure of nations.

The award also aims to encourage adolescents and youth in the UAE to invest their time in developing their skills and talents and sharing them with their peers to be models that inspire others with creative energies, especially since supporting and motivating young people to discover and develop their energies represents the essence of the vision from which the award stems, which qualifies them to keep pace with the various requirements of life and community service at social and cultural levels.

At the end of the reception, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah took a souvenir group photo with the winners.

The reception was attended by Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director General of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority; Mubarak Al Nakhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Youth; and a number of members of the Board of Trustees of the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Leaders and Innovators.