17 March 2021
H.E Shaikha Mai Participates in the First Meeting of the Fourth Session of Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture
H.E Shaikha bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture, participated on 17 March 2021, in the 1st Webinar meeting of the fourth session of the award (2020-2023), through visual communication technology. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, and was attended by members of the Council from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Malaysia and Egypt.
At the outset of the virtual meeting, His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, welcomed the participants, stressing the importance of mosques and their roles in Muslim societies, functionality and social and visual aspects. Retrieving the original function of mosques not only as a place for worship but also as an urban pivot, in which strongly connected to societies daily activities.
H.E Shaikha bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, expressed her sincere thanks to His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, and board of trustees ‘members for their trust and nomination to the Award Committee membership, an award that highlighly value the importance of mosques, which are considered as one of the most important keystones of urban characteristics in Arab and Muslim countries, wishing success to the award’s 4th edition.
Afterwards, the meeting of 4th cycle of Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture screened a documentary summary of its plan of action, review of the main important events of the Third Cycle session of the award ( 2017-2020), which was marked by the organization of the Second International Conference on Mosque Architecture in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, launch of a scientific program of the award to create and design solutions for praying and worshipers’ service, launch of the award e-platform, which contains all the information, develop social partnerships, such as with the International Union of Architects and UNESCO’ International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS).
In addition, the meeting also reviewed the 4th session strategies, which foresees the launch of a e-platform for the 3rd Cycle of the International Conference on Mosque Architecture during this month, organization of the International Conference on Mosque Architecture (ICMO) (Sarajevo, Bosnia –Herzegovina, September 2021, Conference and Exhibition on Mosque: Innovation in Object, Form and Function, in November 2021, as well as the establishment of charity organization, namely the Abdullatif Al Fozan Foundation in the UK, official launch of scientific encyclopedia for mosque architecture, which are laden with mosque-related data arranged meticulously.
The 4th cycle of Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture has so far received 275 nominations and mosque candidates from around the world. Deadline for participation is the end of this month. Founded in 2011, the Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture recognizes architectural excellence in mosque engineering and construction.
Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture was established in 2011, it is targeting the architectural, urban, and technical aspects of mosques all over the world, and It will be awarded to the related designer/architect. The award is triennial; the winning mosques will be awarded based on assessment of an international architectural jurors experienced with mosque architecture, who will relatively evaluate and assign the winning mosques. The The initiative aims to provide a comprehensive global database for organizations wishing to construct mosques and celebrate their inclusive roles.
