The Diplomat
The Arabist and publisher Carmen Ruiz Bravo-Villasante received Casa Árabe’s ‘Friendship’ Award yesterday from the Director General of the institution, Irene Lozano, in the presence of several Arab ambassadors, the Government Delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín Aguirre, and the Director General for the Maghreb, the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alberto Ucelay.
The presentation of the prize, which is being awarded for the first time, took place at Casa Árabe’s premises in Madrid, in the presence of a large audience, including the ambassadors of Tunisia, Fatma Omrani; Jordan, Raghed al Saqqa; and Sudan, Maha Suleiman Taha Ayoub; and the Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Azzam Algain; United Arab Emirates, Omar Obaid Al Shamsi; Libya, Walid B D Abuabdalla; Yemen, Aws Abdullah Ahmed Alawd; and Palestine, Husni Abdel Wahed; as well as the representative of the Arab League in Spain, Malek Twal; and Minister Counsellors from several other Embassies. Also present, among others, was the director of Casa América, Enrique Ojeda, Spain’s future ambassador to Morocco.
After some words of recognition for the work of Carmen Ruiz, delivered by Irene Lozano and Alberto Ucelay, the award-winner thanked the prize-winner for the distinction and went through the different words that in Arabic refer to friendship.
The prize, as announced by the jury on 18 December, on the occasion of International Arabic Language Day, was awarded to Carmen Ruiz for her lifelong dedication to the study, research and dissemination of the Arabic language, and in particular her work on the methodology of Arabic language teaching.
Born in 1947, the prize-winner has been professor of Modern Arabic Literature and Thought at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Throughout her long career, Carmen Ruiz has translated from Arabic “prose books” by notable poets, such as Blue Flame by Yubran Khalil Yubran, Introduction to Arabic Poetry and Arabic Poetics by Adonis, Diary of a City Called Beirut and The Republic of Locuristan by Nizar Qabbani, Judgement in Nisapur and My Poetic Experience by Abdelwahhab al-Bayati. She has also contributed translations to several anthologies, and has written numerous articles and books on Arabic language, literature and thought, among other subjects.
She has also been a member of the editorial board of several specialised magazines, including Almenara, Asuntos Árabes, and Idearabia, and is also the creator and director of the independent publishing house CantArabia.
At the ‘Premio Amistad’ award ceremony, Carmen Ruiz also received an “Orante”, a sculpture by the artist Rachid Koraïchi, internationally renowned for his work in sculpture, installations, ceramics and textiles. It is a 28 cm. high figure made of Corten steel with a rust effect, placed on a turquoise rust-coloured base with the author’s signature, Casa Árabe’s logo and space for engraving the name of the prize-winner and the year.
Casa Árabe’s “Amistad” prize has been created with the aim of recognising the work of individuals and entities, whether public or private, national or international, who have made an outstanding contribution to disseminating the Arabic language, innovating in it, spreading it or extending it to other activities which enhance its uniqueness, its heritage in the Spanish language and its vitality today.
In this first edition, the jury was made up of the Director General of Casa Árabe, as president, and six members from the fields of culture, language, education, economics, international relations and communication. Specifically, the aforementioned Alberto Ucelay; the doctor in Semitic Philology and Medieval History Dolors Bramon; the translator Malika Embarek; the specialist in Contemporary History of the Arab World and university professor Ignacio Gutiérrez de Terán; the radio journalist Pilar Sampietro; and the economist José Luis Curbelo, president of Cofides.
With the creation of the “Amistad” prize, Casa Árabe aims to bring the Arabic language closer to and disseminate it, highlighting and rewarding those whose work and dedication contribute to its wealth and expansion.
