WAM Abu Dhabi, June 25th, 2012 (WAM) -- Parallel to the progress of its 7th session, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award recollects some of the bright moments throughout the past six years since its inception which shaped not only its growth and development but also the lives of its winners and the contemporary Arabic cultural scene as a whole.

The Award celebrated the splendid achievements of exceptional writers, intellectuals, publishers and Orientalist from all over the world, many of which are renowned academics and researchers.

Professor Iyad Abdullah belongs to this elite league; he won Sheikh Zayed Book Award in Fine Arts for his book "The Art of Design" which lays the base to a unique philosophical view of fine arts, through an aesthetic perspective to human needs on all levels. As he recollects on his achievement, Professor Abdullah says: "Winning this reputable prize reinforced my conceptual scientific approach to Fine Arts on both personal and professional levels, especially that I'm the Dean of the Faculty of Design in the University of Muscat. This great recognition of my work gave me additional confidence in my perspective towards academic strategies and curriculum planning for my faculty." Yet it did not end there; the win and subsequent publicity has placed him in the limelight on an international level, thus attracting the attention of the European Union (EU) which selected him one of 18 international Specialists to be part of The European Institute for Advanced Study (EURIAS) Fellowship Programme, which he will commence next September 2012.

Despite his responsibilities at the faculty, Dr. Abdullah still finds the time to pursue his passion of research, and he's now working on a new book in the metamorphosis of design strategy towards digitization, which analyzes the transformation of the science of design and its interaction with communication, production, marketing and aesthetics.

Besides his writings, Iyad is a renowned artist and sculptor recognized by international institutes, combining theoretic approach to practice.

Over the past six years the Sheikh Zayed Book Award has recognized the creative literary and cultural achievements of more than 40 entities, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO which was named the "Cultural Personality of the Year" in the Award's last session. UNESCO joined The Award's hall of fame alongside Brill Publishing House, Paju Book city, H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi; Novelist Wacini Laredj; Professor Pedro Martinez Montavez; Novelist Ibrahim al-Kouni; Orientalist Chung Jikon, and many more.

The Award has recently announced its "call for nomination" inviting authors, translators and publishing houses to apply for its seventh cycle, stating the deadline is September 30th, 2012. Applicants must fill the application form either online www.zayedaward.ae. Once completed and signed, the application forms should be submitted to the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Offices along with the Candidate's CV, Passport copy, Personal photo, and Five copies of the nominated book.

All nominated works must have been published within the last two years. The accepted languages for this year are Arabic, English, German and Chinese.

WAM/AM