H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Council of Trustees of the Khalifa Award for Education, today honoured 12 winners of the 2015-2016 cycle of the award, and prominent Emirati businessman Saeed bin Lootah, winner of the Educational Personality of the Year.

Addressing the award-presentation ceremony, Sheikh Mansour said,'' We, in the UAE value education and place it at the top of our national priorities, care and support. We also provide the resources required to develop its content, improve the learning environment and support educators in light of the leadership's belief in the core role that education plays in building the human being - the engine of development, bedrock of security, source of national treasures and our prime force towards a more prosperous, happier and pioneering future.'' He stated that the award's prime goal of promoting education in the UAE and the Arab world through encouraging and motivating creative and outstanding individuals working in the field would always remain a renewed pursuit which educators will deepen in each round of the award so as to ensure high quality of learning.

He noted that a new category - Educational Innovation - was introduced for the first in the 9th edition to raise the total categories of the award to 12 so as to keep pace with tremendous transformations the UAE is witnessing and which seek to create an environment that fosters and encourages innovation and creativity in the field of educational.

''Innovation today becomes the driving force towards a knowledge-based economy,'' HH added.

Sheikh Mansour congratulated the winners after presenting certificates of appreciation and award shields to them.

Saeed bin Lootah was named the Education Personality of the year in recognition of his contribution to the education process in the UAE through the inauguration of a number of educational institutions. He is the Chairman of the SS Lootah Group of Companies in Dubai, and Chairman of the Supreme Council of the World Al Lootah University for Communication.

Bin Lootah is also the founder of the first Islamic Bank (Dubai Islamic Bank, 1975), the first college of medicine (Dubai Medicine College for Girls, 1986) and the first pharmacy college (Dubai Pharmacy College, 1993).

The Khalifa Award for Education is an International Education Award which aims to enhance the educational sector within the UAE, and throughout the Arab world at large, by honouring the distinguished efforts of educators in the various fields of teaching and specialised education.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), and a number senior UAE and foreign educational leaders and diplomats attended the ceremony.

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