Princess Haya Awards presented

Dubai Police were given the outstanding institutional support award in the public sector category in the Princess Haya Award for Special Education (PHASE) on Monday. Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai, honoured the winners of the fourth cycle of the Princess Haya Award for Special Education (PHASE) who were nominated from different special education centers in the UAE, GCC region and Arab countries in recognition of their outstanding efforts to improve the lives of individuals with special needs. The ceremony, where winners from more than 20 categories were awarded, was held in Dubai on Monday and was attended by senior government officials, heads of departments, public and private sector representatives and other dignitaries. "The main aim of the awards, apart from recognizing the efforts of individuals and centres making a significant contribution in this field, is to uplift the standard of service provided by them. The process is thorough and involves a careful selection, wherein centres and individuals from diverse backgrounds and nationalties are awarded" Faten Hani, head of the Jury Committee, told Gulf News. In the outstanding family category, the Award was presented to the family of Jaffer Sadiq Yaseen for their life dedication not only to their child but to the whole special needs community scientifically and methodologically. In the institutional categories, Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services was the winner of the outstanding website; the Palestine Red Crescent in Nablus was winner of the outstanding special needs project for their Educational and Productive Plant Nursery; Abu Dhabi Rehabilitation Center was the winner of the outstanding institutional research which was under the title of "The Effect of Demographic and Psychological Factors on Families Participation in their Children's Rehabilitation Programs in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi" while SNF Development Center was the winner of the outstanding fundraising campaign for their campaign (Fun Bazar); and the outstanding special needs center was The Holy Land Institute for Deaf in Jordan. In the CSR category, Dubai Police was declared winner of the outstanding institutional supporter winner in the public sector whereas, in the private sector, the award of outstanding institutional supporter was given to Samsung Electronics - UAE. Tamer Anis from the National Association for Deaf in Egypt won the award of the outstanding volunteer in recognition of his dedication outstanding contribution approaches on many fronts. "It is a very special moment for us, it is like a lifetime acheivement award," said Dr Ayesha Saeed Husaini, Director of Manzil Center, who was given outstanding director general award. In his speech, Mohamed Fadel Al Hameli, Vice-President of the Board of Directors and Secretary General of the Zayed Higher Organization, emphasized the significant impact of the Award's on the special education sector and underlined its importance in promoting excellence in the workplaces amongst the different categories of special education employees. Mohammed Al Emadi, head of the Award's executive committee said: "this year, a total of 196 applications were received from various special education centers in the UAE, GCC region and Arab countries,"  "The awards will be given to winners from different categories of the special education sector in recognition of excellence demonstrated by therapists, educators, administrative people, and parents of special needs individuals," he added.