The richest peace prize
dubai — The Dubai International Peace Convention, attracting thousands of visitors from around the world, will see the richest peace prize money in the world being announced. However, no person has been chosen for the award this year.
Dr Hamad Al Shaibani, Director-General of the Dubai Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, said the $1.5-million Mohammed bin Rashid Award for World Peace is to honour deserving individuals and organisations from around the world for exemplary contributions to world harmony and inter-faith dialogue.
“The award, having nothing to do with politics, shall be granted to characters, institutions, or even cities as per certain criteria which a special benchmarking taskforce is working on.”
“We have already studied and participated in a number of international peace prizes, let alone seeking expertise from the Noble Prize committee, and the United Nations, as part of a three-year strategic plan,” he added.
Sultan bin Mejren, Deputy Chairman of the Dubai International Peace Convention, said the award aims to build bridges of cooperation between diverse cultures with a view to fortifying international relations.
“We have not yet decided on the winner of the $1.5 million reward who will be named in the coming years. A special jury has been set up to evaluate nominees according to world- class standards to ensure credibility and inspire higher accomplishments worldwide.”
Mohammed Suhail, Head of the Scientific Committee of the convention, told Khaleej Times that the event attracted hundreds of non-Muslims and fruitfully corrected their distorted image and misconceptions about Islam.
“The second edition of the conference saw the conversion of 35 people of different nationalities who voluntarily embraced Islam.”
Dubai has become major hub in the region for friendly and peaceful initiatives in all aspects of life, such as economy, and most recently Expo 2020. “The world is in a dire need of peace because of the escalating clashes and disputes everywhere,” Suhail said.
Dubai is a role model for peaceful coexistence where people from all over the world are living in harmony, he added. “All religions and cultures are against violence, and called for peace and tolerance.”
Mariam Al Afirdi, Head of the Media Committee, said the “Peace Pledge” campaign (‘I pledge for peace during the next decade’) is available in all languages via the following tags: #PeacePledge). The convention news and updates can be accessed on Facebook (mrawpeace), twitter (@mrawpeace using hashtag #DubaiPeace and Instagram (@mrawpeace.
In the first three days following the launch of the website (www.mrawp.gov.ae), more than 10,000 people have registered online to attend the event, she added. “Online registration is free and involves a simple process on the website, which also provides a detailed overview of the award and the convention.”