Five AUS mass communication students win top honors at Abdee Award

Outstanding work done by students from the Department of Mass Communication at American University of Sharjah (AUS) was awarded top honors at the Abdee Awarding ceremony held by the Sharjah Media Corporation on May 14, 2017. The five AUS students emerged victorious in a competition in which 600 students from Sharjah-based institutions of higher education took part.

Held under the patronage and with the attendance of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council and Sharjah Media Corporation, the Abdee Award aims to encourage students to join the media sector. It also seeks to highlight the field of visual reporting and to strengthen its production methods, both aesthetically and technically.

The Abdee Award carried a total cash prize of AED 150,000 divided among eight categories, which included, among others, categories for the Best Idea, Best Performance, Best Introduction, Best Videography and Best Direction. The organizing committee of the award shortlisted 70 applications from 125 submissions.

Ahmed Al Falasi, Ameena Abdullah, Diana Farah, Kateryna Kadabashy, Shahla Amen won AED 10,000 in the Best Idea category for their short documentary The Journey, which looked at cultural diversity and formation. The Journey also won AED 30,000, ranking second in the Best Overall category. In addition, Ameena Abdullah and Husam Ibrahim won the best Commentary and Narration Award and AED 10,000 for the short documentary Frozen in Time, which focused on Jazirat Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah. Frozen in Time also won best the Pre-production category and received AED 10,000. Abdul Rahman El Kallawy won AED 20,000, ranking third in the Best Overall category for his work, Dubai Canvas.

"On behalf of the College of Arts and Sciences I would like to congratulate the winners on their brilliant achievement and exemplary performance in the Abdee Award 2017, organized by the Sharjah Media Corporation. This is a true reflection of the high quality of our MCM students and the education, guidance and mentoring delivered by our MCM faculty. We are very proud of these achievements," said Dr. Mahmoud Anabtawi, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

The winning students were supervised and mentored by Dr. Suheil Dahdal, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication and Dr. Hania Nashef, Associate Professor of Mass Communication.