Minister of Endowments to preside over Sultan Qaboos Award Ceremony

Muscat: Under the royal directive of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Said Al Maamari, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, will preside over the award ceremony for the 12th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts, and Literature, scheduled for 17 December 2025.

This year’s prestigious award honors three distinguished recipients:

- Asilah Forum Foundation in the category of _Private Cultural Institutions (Culture branch)

- Essam Mohamed Sayed Darwish in the field of sculpture (Arts branch)

- Hikmat Al Sabbagh, known by her pen name Yumna Al Eid, in the category of Autobiography (Literature branch)

Each laureate will receive the Sultan Qaboos Order of Culture, Science, Arts, and Literature, along with a monetary prize of OMR100,000.

During the ceremony, His Excellency Dr. Al Maamari will also announce the categories for the 13th edition of the award, which will be dedicated exclusively to Omani nationals. The award alternates annually between a national edition for Omanis and a pan-Arab edition open to participants from across the Arab world.

It is noteworthy that a total of 466 candidates met the eligibility criteria for the 12th cycle, including:

- 88 nominees in the Private Cultural Institutions category (Culture)

- 97 nominees in Sculpture (Arts)

- 281 nominees in Autobiography (Literature)