Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of the Eastern Region, and in the presence of Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al Batal, undersecretary of the Eastern Region, the fourth edition of the annual Sayidaty Awards were held in Kempinski Hotel in Al Khobar on Sunday.
The event was attended by many personalities active and involved in empowering women and highlighting their issues - especially in the light of the revitalization witnessed by the Saudi society, and the support of women having active roles and a prominent presence, in line with Vision 2030.
The Deputy Governor of the Eastern Region and the Editor-in-Chief Sayidaty and Arrajol presented the awards to the outstanding women as follows:
- Medicine and science: Dr. Rima al-Badr, Dr. Najla al-Radadi, al-Hanuf al-Abishi
- Education: Amal Saleh Salbaa, Dalia El-Tunisi, Dr. Thunwa bint Abdullah Al Matarak al-Omri
- Economics and management: Haifa al-Dakhil, Nouf al-Rakan, Inas al-Ashqar
- Humanitarian and social work: Rima al-Ruwaisan, Sumaya al-Nasser
- Artistic innovation: Hanouf Mohammed, Reem Al Bayat, Maha Malloh
- Sports: Adwa Al Arifi, Maram al-Butairi, Aseel al-Hamad
- Challenging disabilities: Noor al-Huda Bint Adnan al-Karnous, Manal Moayad al-Jaid, Shaimaa Mafdi
In addition to the aforementioned names, four Saudi women, who have been featured in the AboutHer power lists, have also been recognized and honoured for their remarkable achievements in 2018: Maha al-Saadoun, Talah Abu al-Naja, Kadi al-Dhuwayhi, and Lujain al-Ubaid.
Maha al-Saadoun, who won the gold medal in the field of environmental protection at the Geneva International Invention Fair in 2018, invented the invention of "hydraulic piston and opposite weight." She spoke to AboutHer saying, "Despite the many difficulties that I face, I will try to get what I want."
Talah Abu al-Naja, third place winner in the world of social and behavioral sciences at the Intel International Science and Engineering Competition 2018, attended on her mother's behalf. "Saudi women are capable of achieving everything," she said, "We will raise the status of our country, not only locally but globally as well."
Lujain al-Ubaid, founder and CEO of Tsami Company for Social Entrepreneurship, expressed her gratitude by saying, "This Sayidaty award is not light thing or a privilege, but rather a huge repsonsiblity and an incentive to put in more effort and commitment into my work."
As for the fourth winner, 10-year-old Kadi al-Dhuwayhi who is the gold medal receiver at the Asian Young Inventors Exhibition for a sceintific creation that has been recognized all over the world. She was ecstatic at the event as she shared with us, "My feelings are indescribable, I feel proud and happy. I want to thank the organizers and, God willing, this will be an incentive to bring about more achievements for my country."
Editor-in-chief Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi gave a speech thanking his royal highness Prince for his presence, and talking about the importance of the event’s purpose: “Innovation is the measure of people’s development, and it’s the impact you create to develop the society. And a healthy society is the one breathing with two lungs, a woman’s and a man’s.”
Earlier this year, 21 individuals, chosen from a list of over 100 Saudi women who made significant achievements and left remarkable mark, were awarded for excellence in medicine, science, economics, artistic and literary creativity, disability, social and humanitarian work, sports and education.
The awards ceremony, since its launch in Riyadh in 2015, has received immense public resonance and interaction among the Saudi community and the rest of the Arab world. From Riyadh in 2015, to Dubai in 2016, to Jeddah in 2017 and now in its fourth 2018 edition in the eastern region of KSA.
