UNESCO to award Arab culture prize to Bulgarian and Jordanian professors

A Jordanian who has championed intercultural dialogue and a Bulgarian who has contributed to a better understanding of today’s Arab thought and culture, will both be awarded the Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said today.

University of Sofia professor Yordan Peev’s life-long dedication to understanding the contemporary Muslim world has contributed to a better understanding of today’s Arab thought and culture through teachings and lectures in Europe and several Arab states, UNESCO said. From his comparative analysis of Muslim and Christian religious systems to his studies ranging from Bulgarian Muslims to the medieval Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun, Dr. Peev has treated with discernment current principal problems of intercultural communication.

Jordan’s Jamal Al-Shalabi, a professor at Hashemite University, has been strongly committed to promoting intercultural dialogue through his academic work, which focuses on the evolution of policies of the Arab states in relation to Europe, UNESCO said. Dr. Al-Shalabi has also contributed to a greater mutual understanding between Arab and Christian worlds in his books, articles and meetings, raising issues pertaining to Muslim-Christian relations.

A monetary prize of $25,000 each and the awards will be given on 9 November by UNESCO’s Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a ceremony in Paris.

The Sharjah award was created by the Executive Board of UNESCO with funds provided by the Sharjah Government in the United Arab Emirates in 1998 to honour individuals or groups that have contributed in a significant way to the development, dissemination and promotion of Arab culture in the world, as well as to the preservation of Arab cultural heritage.