Dubai: Top 100 global child prodigies honoured at grand ceremony

The 100 top global child prodigies were honoured at a special event in Dubai on Saturday, where their extraordinary achievements were celebrated and recognised.

The Global Child Prodigy Awards entity which is based in India, held a grand ceremony at Marriot Hotel in Jaddaf to honour the awardees. The event was attended by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, while Nobel Laureate Sir Richard J Roberts was the guest of honour.

GCP Awards is the world’s first and only child prodigy initiative that recognises the top 100 international child prodigies from various verticals each year. It is headed by Prashant Pandey, founder & CEO of Global Child Prodigy Awards and Dr K Abdul Ghani, renowned environmentalist and 'Green Man of India', who is the mentor for the award.

Speaking at the event, Pandey, said: “This is a unique initiative encouraging child prodigies from around the globe and will serve as a platform to keep recognising talented prodigies in the coming years. We are happy to bring 100 Child Prodigies from all over the world to the beautiful city of Dubai.”

Hailing from diverse disciplines such as martial arts, painting, modelling and entrepreneurship, to writing, social work and acting, among others, the kids who made it to the top hundred came from different fields and different, including US, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Spain, India, Georgia, Kenya, Brazil, Greece, Belgium, Romania, and many more.

Sheikh Nahayan said he was delighted to meet such an inspiring group of young geniuses from around the world. “The Global Child Prodigy Awards call upon us to appreciate human achievement in a way that crosses boundaries of nationality, ethnicity, religion, culture, physical characteristics, and gender. You demonstrate that nurturing talent and promoting excellence is a universal quest worthy of pursuit,”

“These young people will certainly be making a positive difference in the world. In the UAE, we believe firmly that to embrace excellence and achievement for our youth is to embrace life itself,” said Sheikh Nahyan.

Khaleej Times spoke to some of the winners.

Sir Darius Brown, who was honoured for his charity and social service work at an animal shelter in New Jersey, said: “I have dedicated my life to serving animals of all kinds, especially dogs and cats,”

The 15-year-old said that these animals have nowhere to go and need proper care. “I am planning to build a shelter home with high-end facilities to care for them,” said Brown who had flown in from New Jersey with his mother to receive the award.

Another awardee, Bahar Panjepour from Iran, is a master musician who can play a huge number of musical instruments. “But I am good in about 25 instruments, which I have mastered,” she told Khaleej Times.

Panjepour is delighted to be recognised for her talent. “I never thought that my hobby would bag me an award. Such awards motivate us to reach new heights,” he said.

The 14-year-old who has been recognised as an exceptional musician in her hometown of Isfahan in Iran, began playing musical instruments when she was just six. She aims to be a top musician and singer. “I have a few favourite musical instruments, but the one I love and have completely mastered is the Tar (Iranian musical Instrument),” said Panjepour.

Sports prodigy and footballer Amith Mazin Shabeel who has represented many local teams in the UAE, said he began playing at the age of six. Shabeel has been playing at many U-18 teams in the UAE.

The Grade 11 student from American International School has dreams to play for his favourite English Premier League team — Manchester United, one day. “I have trained and played in the junior teams of many clubs such as Real Madrid FC and Juventus FC in the UAE . I presently play for Gulf United FC U-18 team,” said Shabeel.

Speaking during the event, Dr Azad Moopen, founder, chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, the main sponsor of the award, said: “Every child on this planet is special in their way. The right guidance, the right path, and the right environment help them recognise their inner abilities and manoeuvre them in the right direction,”

“One such encouragement programme is the Global Child Prodigy Awards, where 100 child prodigies are awarded annually from across countries. I am extremely happy to be a part of this noble initiative this year,” added Dr Moopen.

The awardees will be featured in the ‘Top 100 Child Prodigies 2022-2023’ book. During the ceremony, Sheikh Nahyan officially launched the book which will be distributed to top libraries of the world.

The GPC Awards initiative is a platform for kids up to age 15 to showcase their talent and uniqueness to the global audience and get recognised as Top 100 child prodigies, and also get featured in the Global Child Prodigy Annual Book every year.

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