Wednesday 12 / November / 2025
Muscat: The Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science announced on Wednesday that the Asilah Forum Foundation from Morocco won the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature in its 12th session in the field of private cultural institutions in the field of culture, and the sculptor Essam Mohamed Sayed Darwish from Egypt won in the field of sculpture in the field of arts, and the writer Hikmat Al-Majzoub Al-Sabbagh, known as /Yumna Al-Eid/ from Lebanon won in the field of autobiography in the field of literature.
The competition, in its 12th edition dedicated to Arabs in general, included the field of private cultural institutions in the field of culture, the field of sculpture in the field of arts, and the field of autobiography in the field of literature.
The Sultan Qaboos Competition for Culture, Arts and Literature is organised out of interest in intellectual and cognitive achievement, to consolidate cultural awareness, and to support distinguished intellectuals, artists and writers. It is an annual award that celebrates intellectual achievement and honors Omani and Arab creativity, as it is local in one year in which the competition is limited to Omanis only, and Arab in the following year in which Omanis compete with all their Arab brothers.
The total number of applicants in the 12th session who met the nomination requirements was 466 candidates, distributed as follows: 88 candidates in private cultural institutions, 97 candidates in sculpture, and 281 candidates in the autobiography category.
His Excellency Habib bin Mohammed Al-Riyami, Chairman of the Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science, stated that the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature over the past years has addressed specific paths and is one of the determinants of soft power in the Sultanate of Oman.
He added that the center, through the award, is trying to present the Sultanate of Oman to the world, stressing that the session dedicated to Omanis seeks to enhance ambitions through paths that serve the direction for the Sultanate of Oman to reach beyond its geographical framework, while in the session dedicated to Arabs, the Sultanate of Oman presents itself to others in a sophisticated manner, so that it offers the award that is not limited by a geographical location, a specific idea, a specific time, or a specific age.
