On Thursday, January 23 at 18:00, Casa Árabe will celebrate in the Ambassadors’ Hall of its headquarters in Madrid the ceremony for the award of the Friendship Prize, which in its second edition of 2024 has been awarded to Waleed Saleh Alkhalifa, professor emeritus of the Autonomous University of Madrid. Limited capacity. To attend, you must register in advance at this link.
The jury’s decision specifically valued the work of Professor Waleed Saleh as one of the great promoters of the teaching of Arab language and culture in Spain and his work on the dissemination of contemporary Arabic culture, with more than 30 publications on various topics (language, literature and Islam) and more than fifty years dedicated to research, writing and teaching, occupying a prominent place in contemporary Spanish Arabism.
In this regard, his teaching performance at all levels of Arabic education was valued, which earned him the admiration of students and teachers “for his dedication, professionalism and drive to improve”, his work on methodology of Arabic teaching, of great pedagogical value, its lectures and translations from Arabic-Spanish-Arabic, as well as its ardent defense of an integral and modern Arab culture, far from rigorisms and dogmatic excesses, open to plurality, debate and diversity. The winner will receive, in addition to the prestigious distinction, an “Orante”, sculpture by the artist Rachid Koraïchi, internationally recognized for his work in sculpture, installations, ceramics and textiles.
The jury also decided to award an honorary mention of the Posthumous Title Prize to Federico Arbós Ayuso, translator and professor at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
