Sharjah Ruler to address Dh500,000 refugee award ceremony

The winner of the Dh500,000 Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (Siara 2020) will be announced on August 19. His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, will virtually address the fourth annual edition of the award.
Organised by The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) - a Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity dedicated to helping refugees and people in need worldwide - in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the annual awards ceremony honours humanitarian outfits across Asia, Middle East and Africa.
With 242 nominations from 52 countries, the 2020 edition of SIARA will be aired online.
Held under the patronage of the Ruler of Sharjah and his wife, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of TBHF and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, the Dh500,000 award expanded its scope this year to include entities across Africa. "This move seeks to shine light on how Africa supports more than 26 per cent of the world's 70.8 million refugees with its limited infrastructure and resources," TBHF said.
Eligibility and evaluation
SIARA is awarded annually to legally registered non-profit organisations that have been working on social and humanitarian programmes/activities for a minimum of one year prior to nomination. In addition, their values and conduct must be compatible with that of TBHF and UNHCR. Organisations can choose to self-nominate or be nominated by other individuals or organizations.
The nominees are evaluated based on the impact of their work in bringing about tangible benefits to target communities within refugee and displaced persons operations.
Past winners
2019: Lebanon's Amel Association International: For implementing humanitarian initiatives and support programmes that have seen more than 1.6 million interventions in health, education, empowerment, protection, and livelihood trainings within the last six years for thousands of people, including Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
2018: Malaysia's Dignity for Children Foundation: For its role and commitment towards thousands of families in Sentul, Malaysia, by providing a safe environment for their children's education.
2017: Yemen's Sustainable Development Foundation: For its humanitarian efforts to save lives and restore dignity in one of the Middle East's most unstable conflict zones. Working in the worst affected districts, the foundation has provided essentials such as water, food and shelter, and undertaken education and integration projects as well as mine-clearing missions.
Nominations list
>Jordan: 24 nominees
>Kenya: 19
>Uganda: 18
>Nigeria: 17
>USA: 11
>Cameroon: 11
>Pakistan: 10
>Britain, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, and South Africa: 4-8 each
>Africa: 49% of total nominations
>Asia: 44%
>Europe: 5%
>Other countries: 2%
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