His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum awards winners of Dubai Shopping Festival 2015 Media Awards

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His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum awards winners of Dubai Shopping Festival 2015 Media Awards

Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), honoured the winners of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2015 Media Awards at a ceremony on February 4 that was attended by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, and Expo 2020 Higher Committee Chairman.

The DSF 2015 Media Awards ceremony that took place at Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa was also attended by His Excellency, Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Dubais Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), and Her Excellency, Laila Mohammed Suhail, CEO of DFRE, and a large number of distinguished guests and esteemed members of local, regional and international media organisations.

The 20th edition of DSF was held from 1 January to 1 February 2015, under the theme, 20th Anniversary A Journey of Celebrations, offering more than 150 citywide events, mega attractions, numerous shopping opportunities and winning options for residents and visitors from around the world.

The ceremony included a short video presentation on DSFs journey in the last two decades, showcasing DSFs position as a highly successful, unique global family-friendly extravaganza.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group and Expo 2020 Higher Committee Chairman, said: With the successful conclusion of its 20th edition, the Dubai Shopping Festival has truly established itself as a festival of global repute. Undoubtedly, it is one of the central pillars driving the emirates economy especially with its diverse offerings that year after year generate a significantly positive impact on almost every sector of Dubai. Since its launch and under the direction of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the festival has witnessed all the crucial developments that have shaped the economy of the UAE in general and Dubai in particular. DSF has now come to be associated among retailers and visitors from around the world as one of the most awaited periods of the year.
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed also recognized the role of various media organisations in promoting the core messages of DSF to the world. He stated further that honouring the efforts of media personnel for their fantastic contributions to the success of DSF, is also in appreciation of their role in reinforcing the position of Dubai as a hub for world-class festivals.

His Excellency, Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Dubais Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: The successful conclusion of Dubai Shopping Festival's 20th Anniversary is an achievement that demonstrates Dubais ability to organize world-class festivals and events that showcase the city as a must-experience family tourism destination. The success is also a reflection of the crucial role played by the media in promoting this festival and Dubai on the global stage. Todays awards ceremony is our way of expressing appreciation to our partners from the media for their unstinted support during DSF and throughout the year. With such a successful start to Dubais calendar of events for 2015, we look forward to a year which sees us continue to work with our partners in the government and private sectors, to drive growth in visitor numbers and increase the contribution tourism makes to the economy of the emirate."

In her speech, H.E Laila Mohammed Suhail, CEO of DFRE, said, There is no better evidence to the soundness and depth of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, than our gathering today, as we celebrate with you and acknowledge the efforts of media figures at the conclusion of the historic twentieth edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), that was launched in 1996, based on the vision of His Highness. And today, after twenty years, DSF has become the icon of festivals in the region and the world, and has substantially contributed to turning Dubai into a key festival and tourist destination on both regional and international levels.
The twentieth edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival is a unique achievement accomplished by the leadership of Dubai, with its unparalleled wisdom and foresight, which brilliantly embodies cooperation and partnership between the government and the private sector in its greatest form, and between the festival and its local, regional and international audiences. Everyone here in the emirate of Dubai has had a hand in the success of the festival over the past two decades, making it truly a citywide achievement.

Everyone knows that Dubai has become the birthplace of innovative ideas and successful world-class initiatives. The Dubai Shopping Festival has been one of the most important innovative ideas of Dubai in the past two decades, and has become a benchmark in the international festivals industry. The festival's economic impact is evident by the billions of dirhams that are pumped into the main economic sectors in Dubai every year. In addition, DSF has had a significant social effect, since all the activities that it conceives and develops, attract visitors from different nationalities and age categories. This has helped the festival achieve its everlasting slogan, One World. One Family. One Festival".

I would like to deliver my sincere thanks and gratitude to the media. The twenty years of DSF became a truly wonderful trip, during which we worked together, hand in hand. We have grown with you, and succeeded with the support of your sincere efforts. Together, we have seen many developments and had wonderful memories, and recorded many unforgettable accomplishments. Today, being representatives of the Government of Dubai, we express our gratitude and say "Thank You." We invite you to continue this journey with us to achieve more successes in the coming years, and make the emirate of Dubai a pioneering city and the world's top destination for family tourismH.E. Laila Suhail added.

Dubai Shopping Festival 2015 Media Awards

Best Feature on Dubai Shopping Festival. Journey over 20 years - Arabic

The Best Feature (Arabic) on Dubai Shopping Festival. Journey over 20 years, a special award that was instituted to commemorate the DSF 20th Anniversary was won jointly by Shaima Hinawi of Emarat Alyoum and Jamal Almula of Dubai TV

Best Feature on Dubai Shopping Festival. Journey over 20 years - English

The Best Feature (English) on Dubai Shopping Festival. Journey over 20 years, a special award that was instituted to commemorate the DSF 20th Anniversary was won by Janice Ponce De Leon (Gulf News) for her feature titled Winning the trust of millions.

Best Editorial Team Coverage (Arabic)

Al Khaleej won the award for Best Editorial Team Coverage among Arabic newspapers

Best Editorial Team Coverage (English)

Khaleej Times won the award for Best Editorial Team Coverage among English newspapers

Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Arabic) This category is for articles published in local newspapers in the UAE with one winner for each of the three categories below:

Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Shopping) Midhat Alswaifi of Al Khaleej
Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Local Culture & Heritage) - Mohammad Khalifa of Al Bayan
Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Celebrations) - Diana Ayoub of Emarat Alyoum

Best Feature - Local Newspaper (English) This category is for articles published in local newspapers in the UAE with one winner for each of the three categories below:

Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Shopping) - Sharmila Dhal of XPRESS for her article titled First Inside Story of DSF Raffle
Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Local Culture & Heritage) - Faisal Faruq Masudi of Gulf News for his article titled DSF serves up refreshing vignettes of Emirati heritage
Best Feature - Local Newspaper (Celebrations) - Jamil Khan of The Gulf Today for his article titled 5.522km long gold chain ropes in Guinness World Record.

Best Interview - (Arabic)

In the Best Interview category in Arabic, Jamila Ismael of Ara Magazine was adjudged the winner.

Best Interview - (English)

In the Best Interview category in English, Enid Grace Parker (Khaleej Times) was adjudged the winner for her interview titled Enchanted Style while Syed Muzaffar Ali Rizvi of Khaleej Times came second with his interview titled This brands a winner.

Best Feature Regional Newspapers (Arabic)
In the Best Feature Regional Newspapers category, the first prize was awarded to Ahmed Bou Merhi of Alanbaa, Kuwait while the second prize was won by Hind Bin Kaheila of Almasar Alarabi, Algeria

Best Feature Online Media (Arabic)

In the Best Feature Online Media category in Arabic, Ahmed Hashem of German News Agency won the first prize while Alji Hussain of Aram News won the second prize.

Best Feature Online Media (English)

Santhosh John Thooval (Manorama English Online) won the first prize in the Best Feature Online Media category with his article titled DSF The Khalifa of Festivalswhile Parag Deulgaonkar of Emirates 24/7 won the second prize for his article titled DSF Visitors spend Dh2,590 per person; total spend crosses Dh145bn.

Best Feature by a Promising Journalist (Under 25 years old English)
In the Best Feature by a Promising Journalist (Under 25 years) category in English, the first prize was won by Mary Achkanian of Gulf News for her article titled Making a statement with exotic abayas .

Photography

Press photographers were awarded in two categories, DSF Shopping and DSF Celebrations.

Arshad Ali of Gulf News bagged the first prize in the DSF Shopping category while Imad Alaa Addein of Al Bayan came second, followed by Ahmed Ramazan of Gulf News in third place.

In the DSF Celebrations category Haidar Hassan Fouad of Al Khaleej took the second prize and Kamal Kasim of The Gulf Today took the third prize.

Appreciation Award

A special award was presented to Sama Dubai TV in appreciation of their excellent efforts in covering and promoting the DSF 20th Anniversary edition.