Vacheron Constantin organized an awards ceremony at the American University in Dubai to honour the winners of the first Vacheron Constantin Arabic Poetry contest for Young Poetic Talents in the presence of Mr. Ebrahim Abdel Malek, Secretary General of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare representing H.E Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development of the UAE, and Mr. Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin.
During his speech, Mr. Ebrahim Abdel Malek said “The initiative of Vacheron Constantin represents the appreciative intentions of consciousness and respect to the promotion of the cultural aspect of the society, presented in a concept that enlivens beauty in the human nature.”
Mr. Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin said: “The first Vacheron Constantin Poetry contest is a part of the brand’s initiative to impart knowledge to the young generations. Vacheron Constantin aims at encouraging young and promising poets, challenge and reward the best talents, and continue to develop new projects with them. The first Vacheron Constantin Arabic Poetry contest was a great opportunity to get the very heart of the creative and imaginative life force.” Mr. Torres ended his speech by thanking all those who contributed to make this event successful, especially H.E Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development for sponsoring this contest, the American University in Dubai for its spontaneous and constant support in this project, Al Sada Publishing for editing 1,000 commemorative books with a selection of the best poems of the contest, and the members of the jury.
The ceremony commenced with a show that introduced the concept of Arabic poetry in a sensational ambience that merged live music and poetry with reflective theatre effects. Further, the jury members chaired by renowned poets and authors were honoured. The jury members for the classical category were Dr. Aref Al Sheikh, Dr. Mohammad Ridwan Al Dayeh, and Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Obeid. The jury members for the contemporary category were Mr. Salim Al Zamar, Mr. Ali Al Sabaan, and Mr. Ateeq Khalfan Al Kaabi.
The show then continued with the finalists reciting their poems, both in classical and contemporary categories, with pieces that depicted the aspect of “beauty” in the Homeland, Education and Love. The winner in the classical category was Najat Ateeq Al Thaheri from the United Arab Emirates University, and in the contemporary category, the winner was Yousif Al Ali from the High Institute of legal and judicial science. Finalists in the classical category were Najat Ateeq Al Thaheri, Firas Morhaf, Hassan Bakhadda, Layla Adnan Al Moosa and Adel Mohammed Hamid, respectively. In the contemporary category, finalists were Yousif Ameen Al Ali, Sara Humaid Khalifa, Bardees Forsan Khalifa, Khaled Hazzaa Al Qahtani and Safaa Al Saadi, respectively. Mr. Ebrahim Abdel Malek presented the awards to the participants and Mr. Torres offered each of the winners a Vacheron Constantin watch especially engraved for the occasion. The ceremony concluded with applause from the contented audience who left with a copy of the commemorative book.
Vacheron Constantin had announced last September the launch of the Young Poetic Talents 2007 competition among the private and government universities in the UAE. The noticed encouragement and high participation rate provide a positive indication to running a second edition of this poetry contest, this time not limited to the UAE but rather open to a regional scale of participation.
As the oldest watch manufacture in the world, Vacheron Constantin has a long history with the Middle East. The brand started its first exchanges with this community since 1863. Prestigious clients, great families and great leaders from this part of the world have been and continue to be faithful to the Manufacture, wearing exceptional timepieces by the watchmakers of Vacheron Constantin.
