Nomination begins for eighth Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding

The award, which was established by Qatar in 2015, aims to honour translators and express appreciation for their role in strengthening the bonds of friendship and co-operation between the world's nations and bridging the gap between people, as well as encouraging creativity, spreading diversity, pluralism and openness, developing international understanding and enhancing the role of translation in spreading peace and knowledge, and the role of translators in bringing cultures together.In a statement Tuesday, Spokesperson and Media Adviser to the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding Dr Hanan al-Fayyad explained that the award's 8th edition includes translation prizes in individual books and is divided into four categories: Translation from Arabic to English, translation from English to Arabic, translation from Arabic to Turkish, and translation from the Turkish to Arabic.Each prize is worth $200,000: the first place winner will receive $100,000, the second $60,000 and the third $40,000.The second category includes the Achievement prizes in the minor languages, as it is awarded to several translated works from the selected languages to Arabic, and from Arabic to the selected languages (Bahasa Indonesia, Kazakh, Romanian, Swahili, Vietnamese).The third category also includes the Achievement prize for the two main languages (English and Turkish), and this award is worth $200,000.Al-Fayyad stressed that since its first edition, the award has taken upon itself to encourage translating from and to the Arabic language, adopting an international language every year in addition to the English language.The Turkish language has been selected in the award's first edition, followed by Spanish, French, German, Russian, Persian, and Chinese in its seventh edition, she pointed out, adding that in continuation to enhance communication between the Arab culture and the different cultures of the world, the award has selected - once again - Turkish as the main language of its 8th edition for 2022.