Abu Dhabi Awards receives record number of nominations for highest civilian honor

A record-breaking number of people have been nominated for recognition at this year’s Abu Dhabi Awards, a ceremony to celebrate individuals who have selflessly contributed to building up and supporting the emirate.

This year’s submissions for Abu Dhabi’s highest civilian honor have broken all previous records, with more than 36,000 nominations, more than 22,000 of which were unique entries.

The unique nominations figure is the highest since the Awards was launched in 2005.

Also of note was not just the volume of nominations, but that they came in from a much broader demographic than in previous years. People from a total of 135 nationalities took part in the nomination process this year, which is up from 117 in 2013.

Organizers for the Abu Dhabi awards attribute the higher volume of nominations to an increase in online participation, which has helped boost public involvement this year.

A spokesperson for the Abu Dhabi Awards committee said the organizers are pleased to see enthusiasm for the event, with people keen to see citizens from all walks of life recognized and rewarded for making a positive community difference.

“It is particularly encouraging to see more of the country’s youth getting involved with the Awards, nominating people they consider to have made a positive difference in their schools, universities and communities to receive this prestigious honour,” the spokesperson said.

This year’s event marks the tenth anniversary of the award, which has so far been awarded to a total of 63 recipients. Participants had seven-week period to nominate people. This year’s Abu Dhabi Awards recipients will be honored at a soon-to-be-announced ceremony in the coming months.