Second Abdee Award Opens Registrations to Sharjah’s 
Media Undergraduates

The Abdee Award for Best Visual Reports is now accepting applications for its second edition from undergraduate media students in Sharjah, organisers Sharjah Media Corporation (SMC) have revealed. The award has been established by SMC to recognise young talent pursuing media studies in universities based out of the emirate, who demonstrate creative, responsible and impactful reporting on visual media.  

The organising committee have announced the award categories as follows: Best Idea; Best Preparation; Best Presenting / Narration; Best Videography; Best Direction; Best Integrated Artwork (to be given out in three places); Jury’s Choice Award. A new category titled, Best Snapchat Report, has been added this year, with a view to the increasing importance of social media platforms in the transmission and uptake of news. 

Organisers said that submissions have been opened, and the submission deadline for the story idea is February 1, and must be made online. They have announced February 15 as the last day for entering the actual visual news report that entrants wish to compete with. Online registrations are available at: http://www.smc.ae/abde3.

In line with their commitment to add value through these awards, the organisers have conducted an informational workshop today at Al Qassimia University in Sharjah, presented by Dr Ali Qassim Al Shuaibi, Emirati Media Expert, and public speaker and media personality Ali Al Saloom, both of whom are members of the Award’s jury.

The workshop introduced students to the Award, what it stands for and what qualities they will be looking for in winning applications. They also offered essential tips and shared useful advice on the steps to apply. SMC has announced that they will be taking this workshop to several other undergraduate institutions across the emirate. 

According to Najm Al Deen Hashem, Director of Abdee Award, the award could be one of the most important milestones in the career of young aspiring journalists.

“We are dedicated to enhancing the overall quality of media content in the UAE, and believe that guiding future generations who aspire for a career in media and journalism is one of the most effective ways to ensure the same. The Abdee Award for Best Visual Report has been designed to provide undergraduate media students in Sharjah with the encouragement and the confidence they need to pursue a career in this increasingly competitive industry,” Hashem said.

“The fantastic response to the first edition of Abdee encouraged us to launch the second edition in line with our vision, mission and objectives to build a talented generation of media experts, who are able to meaningfully develop the local, regional and even international media in future,” Hashem noted.

Mentioning how widely social media sources are used to break news and report events of the highest magnitude, he said that the addition of the ‘Best Snapchat Report’ award category was an essential step to promote the concepts of integrated journalism and citizen journalism.

Eligibility and general rules

• Participants must be enrolled at one of Sharjah’s universities or educational institutions.
• Entries should not exceed three minutes and should be in Full-HD, with the audio reflecting a 24 Bit-Rate quality.
• The report’s content should be perfectly aligned with the idea submitted, and should be an original story which has not been seen before or not submitted to any other competition.
• Only one entry per participant is allowed, and entries must clearly mention the names of all students that contributed to the report.

The conditions also require all team members of the report submitted to the award to be students, and the team should not cooperate with external art production companies in terms of direction of photography, graphic arts, production, and other visual news report experts. SMC has the legal permission to use, publish and make the most of submitted entries, once registration is closed.

SMC launched the Abdee Award for Best Visual Reports last year seeking to develop competitiveness among media and journalism students, and aims to enhance the quality and competence of the overall media sector by equipping it with young professionals to produce the highest quality visual reports. The award aims to provide a platform to these students to interact and exchange ideas in a creative environment equipped with the know-how of the latest technological and intellectual developments in media.