Top award celebrates achievements of Saudi female talent

RIYADH: The fourth session of the Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman Award for Women’s Excellence was hosted on Tuesday in Riyadh, celebrating the achievements of some of the Kingdom’s most promising talents.

“This award, since its inception, has been keen to be a sustainable annual program to recognize the work of Saudi women in various fields of science and knowledge,” said Dr. Inas Al-Issa, the president of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, which hosted the event, and chair of the prize’s supreme committee.

“The celebration is held to honor the Saudi woman and her role. Today, we meet in the fourth session of the award, and we witness with pride the ability of Saudi women to effectively contribute in the service of their country and society,” said the Saudi Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh.

The ceremony was designed to honor King Abdulaziz’s sister Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman Al-Saud on her courageous and important role in Saudi Arabia’s history.

“I am pleased to be at the Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University to share with you the celebration of an award named after the first Saudi woman who paved the way and encouraged Saudi women to be educated,” Al-Sheikh said.

Five women were honored for their outstanding accomplishments in various fields across the Kingdom.

The awards were issued according to five categories: Health sciences (women’s health), natural sciences (energy and renewable energy), social works (women’s endowments), economic projects (pioneering projects that contributed to supporting domestic tourism) and finally artistic works (Arabic calligraphy).

Upon entering the university’s auditorium, students welcomed the guests with their artistic crafts that paid tribute to the Kingdom’s culture through painting, Arabic scripture, carving and calligraphy.

Dr Maha Al-Mozaini, an infectious disease researcher and educator, bagged the health sciences prize, while Dr Manal bin Mohammed Alqahtani was given the natural sciences award for her work at Saudi Aramco. The social works award was bestowed on Ablah bint Abdulaziz Al-Dasimani, while the award for economic projects found its way to Latifa bint Rashid Al-Tamimi. Finally, the artistic works award was won by Amani bint Alwaheeb Alwahibi.

While praising these women for their efforts, the ceremony was also geared towards inspiring the next generation by empowering their development and supporting their work in various fields.

“In the era of huge technologies, the ambition of Saudi women is limitless, with qualitative achievements with the support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman, God willing, we will witness more achievements,” Dr. Inas said.

Al-Sheikh and the university president honored each of the award’s recipients on stage.

The winners accepted their prizes and took a moment to share their success stories.