Qatar Foundation and the University of Granada have announced the winners of the first edition of the Radwa Ashour Award for Arabic Literature, an award created to support and celebrate outstanding literary talent in the Arabic language.

For the inaugural edition, two individuals have been honored: one in the ‘40 and Under’ category and the other in the ‘Over 40’ category. Nora Nagi from Egypt received the award in the former, while Mohammad Tarazi from Lebanon was recognized in the latter.  

For Nagi, being associated with the name of the great writer and her literary role model  – Radwa Ashour with her profound human and literary legacy – is both an honor and a responsibility that she deeply appreciates. “I look forward to this inspiring literary journey, hoping it will be a fruitful opportunity for  creativity and dialogue,” she said.

“Winning the Radwa Ashour Award embodies a commitment to human dignity and upholds the values to which she devoted her pen. It reminds me of the sincerity of words, and reaffirms my belief in literature as a form of resistance,” Tarazi said. “The news of winning this Award filled me with gratitude and awe. Radwa Ashour’s name evokes a legacy of cultural struggle, and gives us all the moral courage to write against violence, carnage, and oblivion.”

The University of Granada will host both writers in the Andalusian city of Granada for an extended residency where they will have the opportunity to develop their literary projects while engaging with local cultural and academic communities.

The Radwa Ashour Award for Arabic Literature was officially launched in November 2024 in Granada in honor of the renowned Egyptian writer and professor Radwa Ashour. Open exclusively to writers who create in Arabic, the award reflects Qatar Foundation’s (QF) commitment to promoting the Arabic language and preserving Arab-Islamic cultural heritage.

This annual award takes the form of a writing residency retreat in Granada, granted to two exceptional Arabic-language writers. Recipients are selected based on the literary merit of their existing work and the promise of their proposed writing projects. The selection process is overseen by a distinguished panel composed of authors, critics, and literary scholars from Radwa Ashour’s literary circle.

More than a recognition of literary excellence, the Radwa Ashour Award is a celebration of the power of Arabic literature to foster dialogue, deepen cultural understanding, and support creative freedom across the Arab world and beyond.

**ENDS**

Qatar Foundation – 30 Years of Unlocking Human Potential

Qatar Foundation (QF) is a non-profit organization which, for 30 years, has supported the sustainable human, social, and economic development of Qatar through entities, programs, and initiatives focused on education, science and research, and community development.

QF was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir of Qatar, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, who shared the vision of providing quality education for everyone in Qatar. In the three decades since, this vision has evolved into a globally unique, multidisciplinary ecosystem of knowledge – offering opportunities for lifelong learning, fostering innovation, and empowering people to be socially engaged citizens and drivers of positive change.

This diverse but interconnected ecosystem comprises a world-class education landscape spanning the full spectrum of learning from pre-school to post-doctoral level; research, innovation, and policy centers addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges facing the world; alongside community facilities for people of all ages to seek knowledge, embrace active lifestyles, and expand their horizons within QF’s Education City, spanning 12 square kilometers in Doha, Qatar.

With its efforts concentrated on generating impact in five key areas – progressive education, sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, precision health, and social progress – QF remains committed, as it has been for the past 30 years, to investing in Qatar and its people, and contributing to shaping a better world for all.

For a complete list of QF’s initiatives and projects, please visit: www.qf.org.qa

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University of Granada 

The University of Granada (UGR) is a public Spanish university based in Granada, with campuses in the city of Granada, as well as in Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. With its origins in the Yusufid Madrasa of Al-Andalus, established in 1349, the University of Granada was officially founded in 1531 by Charles I of Spain and V of Germany, making it one of Spain’s historic universities as it prepares to celebrate its 500th anniversary.

Currently, it is regarded as one of Spain’s leading universities, hosting approximately 60,000 students, and is a member of the Coimbra Group and the Ibero-American Association of Postgraduate Universities. The university stands out for its international student body and is ranked among the most prominent public universities in Europe. Since the inception of the Erasmus Program, the University of Granada has been a leader in hosting European students.

Its faculty of Translation and Interpretation is the only one in Spain that offers a Bachelor’s Degree with Arabic as the first language. Additionally, it boasts a historic Department of Semitic Studies and maintains direct organizational ties with the Euro-Arab Foundation, as well as research and cultural activity collaborations with the School of Arabic Studies in Granada (CSIC), the Alhambra and Generalife Trust, and the El Legado Andalusí Foundation. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, it regularly appears among the top 300 universities worldwide.