'Recognition from homeland' topmost for Great Arab Minds

For decades, their work has shaped science, medicine, technology, culture, and architecture around the world.

- Waad Barakat

Sheikh Mohammed awards Professor Abbas El Gamal in the Engineering and Technology category.

On Thursday, those contributions were honoured on Arab soil by Arab leadership before an Arab audience.

At the Great Arab Minds award ceremony in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, winners repeatedly returned to one shared sentiment: that recognition from the Arab world carries a weight unlike any other.

For engineering and technology winner Abbas El Gamal, the moment was deeply personal.

"This is the first recognition I received from my Arab homeland," he said on stage. "Egypt and the Arab world have never left me, even though I left more than 50 years ago. This honour carries profound meaning for me, both personally and emotionally."

During the ceremony, six winners were honoured: Professor Majid Chergui in the Natural Sciences category, Professor Abbas El Gamal in the Engineering and Technology category, Dr Nabil Seidah in the Medicine category, Professor Badi Hani in the Economics category, Dr Suad Amiry in the Architecture and Design category, and Professor Charbel Dagher in the Literature and Arts category.