Saudi photographer Abdullah Al-Sheikh won first place in the “Khalifa International Date Palm Award” in the UAE, in the “Human and Date Palm” category, in its 12th edition in 2021.
The General Secretariat of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation announced the winners of the 12th edition of the international photography competition “Date Palm in the Eyes of the World” in the UAE for 2021. Photographer Abdullah bin Hussein bin Ahmed Al-Sheikh from Saudi Arabia secured first place with his photo titled “Al-Ahsa Oasis.” Al-Sheikh expressed his pride in this achievement for his country on his Instagram account and thanked God for this accomplishment.
This achievement adds to the diverse and honorable accomplishments of photographer Abdullah Al-Sheikh, showcasing the talents and contributions of Saudi photographers in presenting artistic content globally. Al-Sheikh has received numerous awards in this field, including the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award in 2019 in the “Doors” category and the Saudi Colors Competition in 2013. Additionally, he received special recognition from Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud in 2018 for his efforts in highlighting the country’s tourist, natural, and heritage sites and shedding light on modern elements and infrastructure. His photographic works have contributed to showcasing Al-Ahsa’s tourist and heritage sites and highlighting modern projects and infrastructure development through photography, as well as placing Al-Ahsa on the cover of important international magazines like National Geographic.
One of his notable works includes the documentary film “Al-Ahsa: The Ever-Renewing Culture,” presented to the UNESCO committee to support Al-Ahsa’s inclusion in the list of Creative Cities, and the film “Spring of Palm Trees: Ain Umm Sab’a,” which highlighted the nature and springs of Al-Ahsa.
The winners of the 12th edition of the international photography competition “Date Palm in the Eyes of the World” were announced, with the following results:
- Category 1 “Date Palm”:
- First place: Sayyid Ammar Al-Sayyid Ahmad Al-Sayyid Abdullah Al-Ashour from the UAE
- Second place: Khaled Jumaa Abdulrahman Murad Al-Balushi from the UAE
- Third place: Jean Yvonne Dewal from South Africa
- Category 2 “Human and Date Palm”:
- First place: Abdullah bin Hussein bin Ahmed Al-Sheikh from Saudi Arabia
- Second place: Hesham Ramadan Shabaan Gaber Hassan from Egypt
- Third place: Hosni Al-Maaloumi from Morocco
The Secretary-General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, Dr. Abdulwahab Zayed, noted that the competition over 12 years has strengthened the relationship between humans and date palm trees by using photography to raise public awareness about the importance of the date palm tree. He mentioned that the 12th edition saw the participation of 752 photographers from 25 countries, with 2,263 photos expressing their love for the date palm tree and their relationship with the blessed tree.