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Gala Festivities Today

To mark the UAE National Day, the cultural show will acknowledge the services of the leading lights in arts and culture

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Gulf Arts and Leadership Academy (GALA) is holding a mega UAE National Day Awards and Cultural Night 2022 today. In line with GALA’s mandate to promote leadership and the cultural quotient of the society by recognising excellence in a wide spectrum of fields, the day-long event, to be held in association with members of the World Malayalee Council Women’s Forum, All Kerala Colleges Alumni Forum, and Rotary Club Dubai Downtown, will honour achievers and leaders in the UAE and India.

A beauty pageant — The World Malayalee Queen 2022, will feature dance performances and musical entertainments will be the cultural highlight of the evening, to be held at Al Thuraya Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai.

At the awards ceremony, several outstanding thought leaders, including lead¬ing entrepreneurs, artists, academicians, and writers from the Arab world and In¬dia will be honoured with accolades and citations in the presence of an elite crowd. Distinguished Emirati and world-renowned film director Padma Vibhushan Adour Gopalakrishnan will grace the event. UAE National Day GALA Awards will be given to those who have excelled in five categories. These include Environment, Philanthropy, Business and Innovation, Community Services, and Literature and Performing Arts. The ‘GALA International Creative Icon Award’ will be presented to Gopalakrishnan for his exceptional lifetime contributions to the film industry.

Major Ali Saqr Sultan Al Suwaidi, President of the Emirates Marine Environment Group, will be honoured with the ‘Lifetime Environment Achievement Award’ for his exemplary leadership initiatives in nature preservation.

Fazial Kottikollon, Chairman of KEF Holding, is the recipient of ‘The Change-maker 2022 Award’, instituted to honour exceptional leadership and innovative initiatives in business. Tariq Chauhan, Group CEO of EFS Facilities Services, is the recipient of the ‘Business Leadership Award’, given in recognition of his remarkable entrepreneurial achievements. The ‘Philanthropy Icon Award’ will be given to Yaseen Mohammed Jaffer for his exemplary humanitarian efforts. Nujoom Al Ghanem, an Arab poet and filmmaker, will be presented with ‘The Creativity Award’ in recognition of her varied contributions as a poet, artist, scriptwriter, and multi-award winning film director.

John Samuel, a Malayalam writer, is the recipient of the ‘Literary Luminary Award’ given for his exceptional contributions as a writer and storyteller.

Varghese Panackal, Chairman of Al Nasser Jewellery, Al Ain, will receive the ‘Community Leadership Award’ for his lifetime contributions as a global community leader. Others receiving community leadership awards include Sunny Kulathakkal, Global President of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO); Johny Kuruvila, Global Chairman of World Malayalee Council (WMC), and Charles Paul, President of All Kerala Colleges Alumni Forum (AKCAF Events) — a vibrant network of former college students from Kerala, for their rich and varied contributions as community leaders.

The National Awards and Cultural Night has been designed to be uniquely refreshing and entertaining, blending the sublime beauty of performing arts with thought-provoking intellectual experience. The day-long event starts with a literary seminar led by Gopalakrishnan and Samuel, for Gulf-based Indian writers and literature and film fans. World Malayalee Queen 2022 Pageant and cultural activities by WMC Women’s Forum will precede the evening awards ceremony.

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