Baroness Helena Kennedy (L) presents the Arab British Culture and Society Award to the team from Al Jazeera English: (L to R) Diarmuid Jeffreys, Tessa Bryson, Peter Wallace, Marwan Bishara, Samah El-Shahat. (SAG photos by Susannah Tarbush)AT a ceremony held at the Leighton House in Holland Park, West London a few days ago TV channel Al Jazeera English was awarded the Arab British Culture and Society Award 2011. The choice of the winner reflected the judges' opinion that it had proved its value through its coverage of the ongoing ‘Arab Spring' and associated upheavals. The annual prize, consisting of 5,000 pounds Sterling and a trophy, is an initiative of the London-based Arab British Center and was first awarded in 2008. It is given to the individual or organization which, in the judges' opinion, has made the most “outstanding contribution to the British public's knowledge and understanding of the life, society and culture of the Arab people”. The Arab British Center was founded in 1977 and organizes and promotes cultural and artistic events as well as hosting a regular program of events, a library, and permanent and temporary art collections. It houses and subsidizes like-minded organizations. Its premises in Gough Square, off Fleet Street in central London, currently support the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), Offscreen Education Program, Edge of Arabia, Banipal magazine and Friends of Birzeit University (FOBZU). In the four years since its inception, the Arab British Culture and Society Award has recognized a wide span of relevant activities. It went to Saqi Publishing in its first year, and the following year was awarded to Zaytoun CIC which supports Palestinian farmers by selling their olive oil and other products in the UK. Last year the award was won by the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. These three entities are all based in Britain. Al Jazeera English is headquartered in Doha, Qatar with an important center of activities in London. Al Jazeera English won the award for its extensive reach and impact on the British public's understanding of events in the Arab world. The judges felt that Al Jazeera English had “risen to the occasion at a key moment in the history of the Arab world, with its journalists undertaking personal risks to provide an alternative perspective to the mainstream British media.” Al Jazeera English's Nazareth-born senior political analyst Marwan Bishara received the award on behalf of the channel. He said the channel had succeeded for a number of reasons: “It is financially supported so it can avoid commercial dependence or motive; it has the freedom to decide on its stories, and it has a backyard fertile with hot news.” Al Jazeera English will not be keeping the $5,000 cash prize but will donate it to a recipient who is yet to be announced. The five-candidate shortlist was selected from a longlist of 27. The judges highly commended another shortlistee, the Delfina Foundation for its vital work in creating artistic dialogue between the Arab world and the UK. The foundation, created by renowned arts patron Delfina Entrecanales, was credited for its program of residencies, artistic exchanges and related public art events. Leighton House was an appropriate venue for the award ceremony. It was built as the home and studio of the artist and traveler in the Middle East, Lord Frederic Leighton (1930-1896), and is famed for its rich Arab interiors, with the Arab Hall as its centerpiece. It reopened in April 2010 after a two-year restoration project. As part of the award evening, there was a performance by oud player Khyam Allami who was born in Damascus in 1981 to an Iraqi family and grew up in London. He gave an enthusiastically-received premiere of the composition “An Alif/An Apex” from his forthcoming album “Resonance/Dissonance”. Munira Mirza, London Mayor Boris Johnson's Advisor on Arts and Culture, praised the Arab cultural community. The chair of the panel of the judges was Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, one of Britain's best-known human rights lawyers. Other judges included Oliver Butterworth, Artistic Director of the Al Farabi Concerto concert series; Heather Masoud, a director and founder of Zaytoun CIC; Dr. Venetia Porter, Assistant Keeper of the British Museum's Islamic and Contemporary Middle East Department; Samuel Shimon, the Iraq-born author and co-founder and editor of Banipal magazine and of the website kikah.com; Dr Shelagh Weir, Research Associate at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London University; and James Neil, film practitioner and curator, and author of the forthcoming book “Middle Eastern Cinema”. Baroness Kennedy admitted that the choice of Al Jazeera English might be perceived as controversial, but what had tipped the balance in its favor was that it had “shown the British public voices of ordinary Arab people, people who challenge the stereotypes.” She acknowledged that the judges had found it difficult to choose an outright winner. The other shortlisted entities included Dash Arts which develops and presents new music, theater, art and dance. The London Middle East Institute (LMEI) and the Palestine Film Foundation (PFF) also made the shortlist. In each of the four years of its existence the prize has been awarded to an organization rather than an individual, although in some years individuals have been shortlisted and commended. Some observers wonder whether organizations and individuals should really be judged side by side. One solution might be to consider having separate prizes, for an organization and for an individual.
