Winner of Sard Al Thahab Narrators Award

Dr Ghazali holds a PhD in Semiotics from the Sorbonne University in Paris in 1991.

She is a former Minister who was tasked with non-formal education and literacy efforts, as well as a professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. She is the President of the International Academy for Intangible Cultural Heritage and a visiting professor at several European and Arab universities. Dr Ghazali is also a writer in the fields of literary criticism, education, oral traditions, and childhood, as well as a member of the International Council for the Right to Knowledge in Rome since July 2016. She is an international expert in intangible cultural heritage, accredited by UNESCO in 2010, and has participated in numerous national and international conferences in the fields of ethnosemiotics, oral heritage, and dialogue of civilisations.

Founder and director of the Morocco Storytelling Festival and a skilled storyteller of Moroccan oral heritage.

President of the Union of Arab Photographers

An Iraqi artist who was born in Baghdad in 1956. He studied Media at the University of Baghdad and graduated in 1980.

From an early age, Al Ani showed a passion for photography, and he quickly rose to prominence in this field, winning many awards in local and international competitions.

He has held many important positions in the field of photography, including President of the Union of Arab Photographers, Member of the Secretariat for a number of awards, including the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award. He has also held prestigious positions, including President of the Arab Photographers Association.

Al Ani has participated in many specialised photography courses, including Institute for Photojournalism in Munich and a course on colour printing techniques in Leverkusen, Germany.

During his artistic career, he has received many awards and certificates, such as the Golden Award at Al-Thani Award in 2007.

Moreover, Al Ani served on several judging panels for photography competitions, he was the chair of judges in the first Arab Image Festival in Iraq in 1989 and the Photojournalism Competition for students of the Media Department at the Faculty of Media in Baghdad.

Adeeb Shaaban Al Ani is one of the most important contemporary Arab photographers who have significantly contributed to the Arab photographic scene.

An Egyptian poet, journalist, and novelist, born in 1973, he holds a Master's degree in Media Sciences from Cairo University's Faculty of Media. He has been working in Arab cultural journalism since 1996 and is the managing editor of the Abu Dhabi-based magazine "Heritage". He has won several awards, including the Sawiris Prize for the best theatre script for the play "72 Hours of Amnesty" (2015) and the Sharjah Arab Creativity Award.