The Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award (MBRKA) held its very first meeting following the closing of the application period for the Award, in the lead-up to the second round of qualifications.

The meeting was held at the Dubai head office of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Structure (MBRF) - the institution arranging the Award - and under the patronage of MBRF Chairman His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, that is likewise the MBRKA's Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

The Foundation's CEO, His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb, presided over the meeting, where the Board took a look at the entrances of prospects - individuals and organisations-- that made it to the 2nd round of selections after the Board of Advisors shortlisted them from the applications sent by means of the Award's internet site over a period of four months. The Board also went over preparations and procedures for the upcoming 2nd stage of the Award.

Participants of the Board present at the meeting were: Dr Ali Ahmed Al Ghafli, Vice Dean for Social Sciences at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, UAE University; Nick Rawlins, Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Oxford; and Alexander J.B. Zehnder, Visiting Professor and Member of the Board of Trustees of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

" The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award has spearheaded the efforts to spread knowledge across the UAE and the Arab world," said H.E. Jamal bin Huwaireb, keeping in mind that this year, the Award was open for nominations for the first time. "Our region has to build on this possibility and continue its initiatives to shed light on major payments and accomplishments that serve to create and spread out knowledge."

H.E. bin Huwaireb described that the Board will certainly start shortlisting the most successful entries and afterwards offer the checklist to MBRKA's Chairman of the Board to authorize by October 2017. "This in an international award," he emphasized, pointing out that the Award's Board of Trustees "could count representatives from prestigious worldwide knowledge institutions amongst its members-- institutions such as UAE University, the University of Oxford, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore and National Geographic."

Meanwhile, Dr Ali Al Ghafli lauded the Award as a platform to recognise and compensate payments by thought-leaders - be they individuals or organisations - that have actually dedicated time and effort to produce knowledge and positively influence people's lives. "Arab intellectuals are more than capable of innovating and keeping up with knowledge developments around the world," he asserted, "as long as they have resolution and are supported by audio approaches. We have Arab governments that actively intend and release projects to steer the youth to knowledge and, inevitably, produce an educated Arab culture."

Prof. Nick Rawlins, for his part, highlighted the value of an Award like the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award, considereding as it honours individuals and organisations for making payments to the knowledge sectors and helps produce a global network of knowledge professionals, leaders and lovers. Rawlins took place to compliment the development recorded in the knowledge and education sectors throughout the Arab wold.

Knowledge is the cornerstone of culture and the perfect device for establishing communication between different cultures, stated Prof. Alexander Zehnder. "It is necessary, then, to have an award such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award, to develop the possibilities that cultures can build on to catalyse growth," he included, applauding the UAE for its success in establishing the excellent atmosphere for knowledge to flourish, which, consequently, causes extra sustainable growth.

" The Committee of Advisors was very satisfied with the high quality of the elections," stated Dr. Wes Harry, Member of the Award's Committee of Advisors. "The Advisors spent 2 days choosing the best of the potential MBR Knowledge Award winners. It showed to be a very difficult task to select only a few of the elections for the Trustees to think about as potential MBRKA laureates. We waiting to many more elections of the same high quality next year, even if it makes our required a whole lot more demanding."

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Knowledge Award honours success in a number of knowledge-related categories, including advancement, innovation, leadership and creativity, the growth of universities, clinical study, communication technology, literary works, posting and printing, paper and electronic documentation, and several other markets determined by the MBRKA Board of Trustees.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation will certainly announce the winners during the Knowledge Summit 2017, set to be held in Dubai this November.