Abu Dhabi, July 14 (WAM) - Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa Educational Award, the General Secretariat of the Award, one of the institutions of "Zayed's Human Heritage Foundation", today announced the launch of the 20th edition for the year 2026-2027.

This edition includes, for the first time since the award’s inception in 2007, a new category: Innovation and Artificial Intelligence in Education. This is in line with the directives of our wise leadership regarding the application of advanced technology and artificial intelligence in various fields to enhance the quality of human life and well-being.

This field aims to highlight the most prominent scientific and practical practices in artificial intelligence within the learning environment at all educational stages, in line with the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the United Arab Emirates.

The General Secretariat of the Award noted that the 20th edition includes 10 areas distributed among 18 categories covering various educational, practical, and societal fields at local, Arab, and international levels. It confirmed that it will start accepting applications for candidates in the new edition from today until December 31.

Hamid Al-Hوتي, Secretary General of the Khalifa Educational Award, emphasized the importance of this session, which completes two decades of educational, academic and community excellence for the award. It is a leading national initiative that began in 2007 with a comprehensive message of excellence in education. Over two decades, the award has successfully created a positive and humanitarian impact on the education sector, including all its elements and at all levels, which has placed it among the foremost specialized educational awards in the region and the world.

Al-Hوتي stated during his speech at the launch of the 20th session today that the Khalifa Educational Award is proud to be sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. He emphasized that this sponsorship has propelled the UAE education system to the forefront of international competitiveness indices worldwide. The award will continue to be a prominent national initiative that has achieved significant national accomplishments in terms of establishing a culture of excellence in local, Arab and international educational and pedagogical fields.

The Secretary General of the Award praised the directives of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the Presidential Office for Development Affairs and Martyrs’ Families, Chairman of the International Humanitarian Affairs Council, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Legacy Humanitarian Foundation. He highlighted His Highness’s commitment to keeping pace with the technological and scientific developments in the education sector, which opens up wide horizons of knowledge and looks towards the future.

Hamid Al-Hوتي praised the support of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa Educational Award, and his keenness to ensure that the areas proposed for the award are in line with the progress and development of education worldwide.

The Secretary-General of the Khalifa Educational Award said that the launch of the 20th edition today is a cherished occasion for us, especially as this edition coincides with the 20th anniversary of the award’s launch. This journey has been a qualitative leap in building a comprehensive system for excellence culture in the field of education, which is one of the vital sectors that His Late Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan believed in since the beginning of the Union. The founding leader made education one of the pillars of the country's construction and development. This message is what we are proud to be loyal to through the Khalifa Educational Award, and to embody through it the vision and mission of the Zayed Legacy Foundation to have a positive impact on individuals' and communities' lives.

He pointed out that the award is proud of its strategic partnership with various institutions and relevant entities, which has helped it achieve its message and objectives as a beacon of educational and intellectual excellence.

Regarding the fields and categories of the 20th edition, Hamid Al-Hوتي said: "This edition includes 10 fields distributed over 18 categories. These include the 'Distinguished Educational Personality' category, which is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to education at both the local and Arab levels. The 'Khalifa Global Award for Early Childhood Education', which was first introduced by the award four years ago on a global scale, making it unique in its focus on this vital category worldwide. It reflects the vision of the wise leadership to foresee a bright future for children and invest in them, as investing in this category is an investment in the future."

He added: "Since its inception, the award has witnessed great interest from various prestigious global institutions as one of the prominent national initiatives launched by the United Arab Emirates to the world. It carries a message related to the quality of human life and creating a positive impact on individuals and societies alike. The award aims to highlight the best practices in early childhood care. It includes two categories: 'Research and Studies' and 'Programs, Curricula, Methodologies, and Teaching Methods'. These are overseen by a grant committee comprising experts and specialists in early childhood education worldwide.

Al-Hوتي explained that the 20th edition also includes a number of areas, including general education (the category of locally and Arabically creative teachers, and the institutional educational performance category), the field of education and community service (the institutions category and the category of outstanding Emirati families), people with disabilities (the individual category, and the institutions and centers category), the creativity in teaching Arabic language (the category of outstanding teacher, and the category of locally and Arabically outstanding university professor), the higher education field (the category of outstanding university professor), the educational research field (the category of educational research), the field of educational writing for children (the category of educational innovations, and the category of child literature studies), and the field of educational projects and programs (the individual category, the institutions category, the students category, and the innovation and artificial intelligence in education category which is introduced for the first time in this edition with the aim of highlighting research efforts, practical applications, and innovative educational solutions that contribute to developing the education system through the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, thereby enhancing the quality of education, improving teaching methods and assessment, and raising the quality and excellence of performance in all educational institutions. This category targets individuals, work teams, institutions, and students, as well as educational artificial intelligence projects that have proven through practical application over the past three years to be able to create a sustainable educational impact in the learning environment.

He noted that the award has developed its website in recent years according to best practices and technology, making it a distinctive platform for interacting with potential candidates. This saves time and effort in submitting applications electronically, as well as ensuring accuracy and transparency in handling them by specialized committees for screening, judging, and evaluating until the results are announced in April 2027.