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Asharq Al-Awsat Receives 3 Awards at Arab Media Forum in Dubai

Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid with the winners of the Arab Media Award. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid with the winners of the Arab Media Award. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Asharq Al-Awsat Receives 3 Awards at Arab Media Forum in Dubai

Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid with the winners of the Arab Media Award. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid with the winners of the Arab Media Award. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper proudly received two prestigious awards at the 2nd edition of the Arab Media Award (AMA) ceremony on Monday.

The ceremony, held on the opening day of the 21st edition of the Arab Media Forum (AMF), celebrates excellence in journalism across three key media sectors: Journalism, TV, and Digital Media.

Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid,attended the ceremony.

Asharq Al-Awsat's journalists Jamal Johar and Sawsan al-Abtah received the Investigative Reporting Award and Best Columnist Award respectively.

Kuwaiti thinker and renowned media figure Mohammed al-Rumaihi received the Media Personality of the Year award for his tremendous contributions to Arab media.

The Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) won various categories, including the Best Economic Program Award for "al-Sabah Ma Siba", airing on the Asharq news channel, and the Digital Media Award category for Best Economic Platform: Argaam.

For the Best Sports Program Award, the winner was "Fi Al Marma," broadcast on the al-Arabiya news channel.

Hespress won the Best News Platform award in digital media, and FilGoal received the Best Sports Platform.

Furthermore, Magdi Abu al-Fotouh of Ashorouq newspaper received the Economic Journalism Award, and Ahmed Diab from al-Ahram al-Arabi won the Political Journalism Award.

Children's Media Award was presented to Asmaa al-Shamsi of Majid Magazine.

"Bil Khat a-Areed", on Lebanon’s LBCI channel, received the Best Social Program Award, while "Thakirato al-Rimal", broadcast on Sky News Arabia, won the Best Documentary Award.

The Arab Media Forum kicked off in Dubai held under the patronage of Vice President and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Organized by the Dubai Press Club, the two-day event will bring together over 3,000 distinguished attendees, including influential media personalities, ministers, and heads of leading local, Arab, and international media organizations, as well as thought leaders, intellectuals, and writers.

In opening remarks, Managing Director of Dubai Media Council and Chairperson of the Dubai Press Club Mona al-Marri congratulated all the winners and stressed that the award's distinguished status was a testament to years of hard work and constant encouragement.

She stressed that the future of Arab media depends on institutions' ability to adapt to these changes and embrace modern media tools.

Marri also highlighted artificial intelligence's integral role in shaping the future of media.

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Palestinian Pottery Sees Revival in War-Ravaged Gaza

Displaced Palestinians walk past a wind and rain-damaged tent, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians walk past a wind and rain-damaged tent, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Palestinian Pottery Sees Revival in War-Ravaged Gaza

Displaced Palestinians walk past a wind and rain-damaged tent, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians walk past a wind and rain-damaged tent, following heavy rainfall north of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Traditional clay pottery is seeing a resurgence in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians are forced to find solutions for a shortage of plates and other crockery to eat from in the territory ravaged by more than a year of war.

"There is an unprecedented demand for plates as no supplies enter the Gaza Strip," 26-year-old potter Jafar Atallah said in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah.

The vast majority of the Palestinian territory's 2.4 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, by the war that began with Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Fleeing bombs amid Israel's devastating retaliatory military offensive, which has destroyed large amounts of civilian infrastructure, everyday items like cups and bowls have often been lost, broken or left behind to perish.

With imports made increasingly difficult by Israeli restrictions and the dangers of delivering aid, Gazans have had to find resourceful ways to meet their needs since the war began.

- Bare-bones -

To keep up with demand, Atallah works non-stop, producing around 100 pieces a day, mainly bowls and cups, a stark contrast to the 1,500 units his factory in northern Gaza made before the war.

It is one of the numerous factories in Gaza to have shut down, with many destroyed during air strikes, inaccessible because of the fighting, or unable to operate because of materials and electricity shortages.

Today, Atallah works out of a bare-bones workshop set up under a thin blue plastic sheet.

He carefully shapes the clay into much-needed crockery, then leaves his terracotta creations to dry in the sun -- one of the few things Gaza still has plenty of.

Each object is sold for 10 shekels, the equivalent of $2.70 -- nearly five times what it was worth before the war led to widespread shortages and sent prices soaring.

Gazans have told AFP they are struggling to find all types of basic household goods.

"After 13 months of war, I went to the market to buy plates and cutlery, and all I could find was this clay pot," said Lora al-Turk, a 40-year-old mother living in a makeshift shelter in Nuseirat, a few kilometers (miles) from Deir al-Balah.

"I was forced to buy it to feed my children," she said, noting that the pot's price was now more than double what it was before the war.

- Old ways -

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 44,176 people, most of them civilians, according to data from Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

Following each Israeli army evacuation order, which generally precedes fighting and bombing, masses of people take to the roads, often on foot, carrying whatever they can manage.

But with each passing month and increasing waves of displacement, the loads they carry grow smaller.

Many Gazans now live in tents or other makeshift shelters, and some even on bare pavement.

The United Nations has warned about the threat of diseases in the often cramped and unsanitary conditions.

But for Gazans, finding inventive ways to cope with hardship is nothing new.

In this, the worst-ever Gaza war, people are using broken concrete from war-damaged buildings to build makeshift homes. With fuel and even firewood scarce, many rely on donkeys for transport. Century-old camping stoves are reconditioned and used for cooking.

Traditional pottery is another sign of a return to the old ways of living.