Dubai, 2 January 2026: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, congratulated Professor Charbel Dagher on winning the Great Arab Minds 2025 Award in the Literature and Arts category. His Highness highlighted the central role that literature and the arts have played in shaping societies and civilisations throughout history.
In a post on X, His Highness said, ‘We congratulate the winner of the Great Arab Minds 2025 Award in Literature and Arts, Professor Charbel Dagher from Lebanon, Professor of Arabic Literature. Over several decades, he has made significant intellectual contributions across multiple literary fields, including poetry, writing, and literary criticism. He has also conducted in-depth studies of Arab arts, examining their historical development and the transformations they have undergone.’
His Highness added, ‘ Professor Charbel has published more than 70 books, through which he has enriched the fields of literature and the arts in the Arab world. His publications are considered key references for the study of Arab literature and art throughout history.”
His Highness further stated, “We congratulate all the winners of the Great Arab Minds Award, and we say to all Arabs that those who built the greatest civilisation in history are capable today of building an even greater future, if they believe in themselves, in their potential, and in their role in renewing civilisation.’
The Great Arab Minds Award is the largest initiative of its kind in the Arab world. Since its launch by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, it has established itself as the Arab equivalent to Noble Prize, recognising exceptional Arab minds and their contributions across six main categories: Literature and Arts, Architecture and Design, Engineering and Technology, Medicine, Economics, and Natural Sciences.
Among Professor Dagher’s most widely recognised works, considered key references in the study of Islamic and Arab art, Arabic calligraphy, and modern visual arts, are Islamic Art in Arabic Sources: The Craft of Ornamentation and Beauty; Arabic Hurufiyya: Art and Identity; Art and the East; and The Eye and the Painting.
Professor Dagher is regarded as one of the leading cultural figures in Lebanon and the Arab world. A poet, critic, and academic, he combines creative practice with rigorous research. Born in 1950, he developed his intellectual path within a rich cultural environment and has built, over more than five decades, a substantial body of literary and critical work that has contributed to the advancement of aesthetic studies and Arab art criticism.
Writing in both Arabic and French, Professor Dagher has engaged with diverse intellectual traditions, developing approaches that connect heritage and modernity. His work is characterised by the integration of poetry, aesthetic studies, and art criticism, with significant contributions to the study of Islamic and modern Arab art and to discussions on cultural identity in contemporary art criticism.
Professor Dagher is Professor of Arabic Literature and Arts at the University of Balamand and has an active academic and research presence across universities and cultural institutions. He has authored numerous books in poetry, criticism, and arts, many of which are widely recognised as references works in the Arab literary and artistic field.
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chair of the Higher Committee for the Great Arab Minds initiative, informed Professor Dagher of his win during a video call. He highlighted the shared human values reflected in Professor Dagher’s work, which has achieved international recognition and reached audiences across cultures through the universal language of literature and art.
He said that the initiative reflects the confidence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in the capabilities and creativity of Arab minds, and in their ability to present an accurate narrative of the Arab world’s civilisational contributions and serve as role models for future generations.
He added that honouring Professor Dagher recognises both the Arab creator and an intellectual and artistic journey that has enriched understanding of Arab literature and the arts, and reinforced cultural identity within contemporary literary and artistic discourse through the connection between heritage and modernity.
The Literature and Arts Committee of the Great Arab Minds Award for 2025 was chaired by Mohammed Al Murr, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation, and included Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandria.
The announcement of Professor Dagher as the winner in the Literature and Arts category concludes the list of winners in the third edition, which included Dr. Nabil Seidah in Medicine, Professor Abbas El Gamal in Engineering and Technology, Professor Badi Baltagi in Economics, Professor Majed Chergui in Natural Sciences, Dr. Suad Amiry in Architecture and Design, and Professor Charbel Dagher in Literature and Arts.
This followed the completion of all evaluation processes by the specialised judging committees across the six categories of the Great Arab Minds Award, reviewing nominations received from across the Arab world and beyond, each according to its field of specialisation: Medicine, Engineering and Technology, Economics, Natural Sciences, Architecture and Design, and Literature and Arts.
The specialised committees evaluated the nominations based on unified criteria and standards for each category, ensuring a comprehensive, scientific, and transparent evaluation process.
Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, chaired the Higher Committee of the Great Arab Minds initiative. The Nominations Committee included Huda Al Hashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs; Chucrallah Haddad, Partner and Head of Advisory at KPMG Lower Gulf; Abdulsalam Haykal, President and Founder of Majarra Company; Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn Middle East and North Africa and Emerging Markets in Africa and Europe; and Saeed Al Nazari, Secretary-General of the Great Arab Minds initiative.
The award included six high-level specialised committees for each category. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, chaired the Economics Committee; Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, chaired the Engineering and Technology Committee; Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Foundation, chaired the Literature and Arts Committee; The Medicine Committee was chaired by Dr. Amer Ahmed Sharif, President of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Health; The Natural Sciences Committee was chaired by Professor Sehamuddin Galadari, Senior Vice Provost of Research and Managing Director of the Research Institute at New York University Abu Dhabi; The Architecture and Design Committee was chaired by Professor Hashim Sarkis, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to the committee chairs, the specialised committees also included Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre; Dr. Mohammed Madhi, Dean of the College of Business and Economics at UAE University; Dr. Rabah Arezki, Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at the World Bank and Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; Ferid Belhaj, Fellow at the Policy Centre for the New South; and Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund.
The committees’ membership further included Professor Ismael Al Hinti, President of Al Hussein Technical University; Adel Darwish, Regional Director of the International Telecommunication Union; Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandria; Dr. Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Director-General of Dubai Health Authority; Professor Elias Zerhouni, Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, Dean of the Kennedy College of Sciences and Professor of Physics at the University of Massachusetts Lowell; Professor Nader Masmoudi, Professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University Abu Dhabi; Dr. Latifa Elouadrhiri, Laboratory Directed Research Staff Scientist at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility; and Professor Dr. Jehane Ragai, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at The American University in Cairo.
The specialised committees also included Dr. Adrian Lahoud, Dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art, and Professor Ali Malkawi, Professor of Architectural Technology, Director of the Doctor of Design Studies Programme, and Founding Director of the Harvard Centre for Green Buildings and Cities.
The Great Arab Minds Award is the largest Arab initiative dedicated to recognising exceptional Arab minds across six key sectors that are central to the revival of Arab civilisation and to strengthening its contribution to human civilisation. These sectors include Medicine, Engineering and Technology, Natural Sciences, Economics, Architecture and Design, and Literature and Arts.
The Great Arab Minds Award, which has become known as the ‘Arab Nobel,’ honours distinguished Arab individuals and highlights their outstanding achievements. It draws attention to the Arab world’s long-standing intellectual and cultural legacy, as well as its continued role in advancing knowledge and human progress.
Now in its third year, the initiative continues to spotlight Arab creativity and excellence, inspiring younger generations and specialists across the Arab world to build on this legacy and contribute to the future of Arab knowledge, culture, and civilisation.