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Ammon News - Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Sunday patronized a ceremony honoring winners of the 10th edition of the King Abdullah II Award for Creativity (2019/2020).

The biennial award, sponsored by the Greater Amman Municipality, is the only Jordanian prize with an Arab outreach. The winners were announced in May 2021, and they included Egyptian novelist Issam Yousef whose novel "¼ Gram (Quarter of a Gram)" bagged the award for the literature and arts category which was themed "Narcotics: Response and Solutions".

In the Arab city category, which was themed "City Identity: Preservation and Development," the award went to Walid bin Muhammad bin Uqla Al-Humaidi, Saudi Arabia, in appreciation of the Asir region’s municipality's efforts to preserve the identity of cities and urban communities in that southwestern part of Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the jury decided to withhold the prize in the science category "Unconventional Sources of Water", "for the nominations' lack of originality, creativity or applicability."

Chairman of the Award's Board of Trustees, former Prime Minister Abdel Raouf Al-Rawabdeh, said that the award is one of His Majesty King Abdullah's initiatives to honor creative Jordanians and Arabs in three categories: literature and arts, science, and Arab city.

GAM Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh said the municipality launched the award about 20 years ago in implementation of the visions of His Majesty the King to support creativity and innovators, pointing out that the award encourages the introduction of integrated and comprehensive solutions that contribute to national development and ensuring an optimal use of resources.