The nomination and application period for the 12th cycle in 2026 has been announced, running from January 1st of this year to March 31st of next year.
The award had announced the languages for the 2026 cycle several months ago, a step aimed at giving translators and relevant institutions a longer period to prepare their nomination files, which enhances the quality of submissions and reinforces the award’s professional and methodological character.
Categories and Languages of the 12th Cycle
The Chinese language, alongside English, was chosen among the most widely spoken languages in the single book category, having been selected in two previous cycles, confirming the growing importance of translation activity between it and Arabic.
The value of the prizes for the top three positions in each single book category is 200,000 US dollars.
As for the Achievement Award category, which honors long-term cumulative efforts in the field of translation, whether by individuals or institutions, three less widely spoken languages were chosen: Italian, Azerbaijani, and Fula, in addition to English and Chinese.
The value of the Achievement Award in each category is 100,000 US dollars.
Extensive Awareness Activities
Following the selection of the Chinese language for the upcoming cycle, the award committee conducted an extensive awareness tour in a number of cities, universities, and research centers in China concerned with Arabic studies.
The award also organized, in cooperation with Beijing Foreign Studies University, a scientific symposium on the reality and challenges of translation movement between Arabic and Chinese, the first event of its kind held in China organized by a non-Chinese institution.
A delegation from the award also toured the Republic of Azerbaijan, including meetings with prominent figures in the field of translation between Arabic and Azerbaijani, in universities, institutes, and religious and endowment institutions.
In the same context, the award announced the organization of an extensive visit to the Republic of Mali, following the selection of the Fula language for the 12th cycle, as part of its endeavor to expand interaction with less widely spoken languages and support their presence in the global translation scene.
The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding is an independent international translation award, and the most important and largest award concerned with translation between the Arabic language and the languages of the world. Since its establishment in 2015, it has aimed to support translators, appreciate their pivotal role in building bridges of communication between peoples, and honor them as the unsung soldiers in the service of knowledge.
It also seeks to systematically and sustainably advance translation between the Arabic language and other world languages, contribute to raising the level of translation and Arabization based on quality, accuracy, and intellectual value, in addition to supporting cultural exchange and civilizational communication between Arab societies and other societies through translation.
