Director of the FUNN (Sharjah Media Art for Youth and Children) and Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival, Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, became one of the inaugural winners at the first Femina Middle East Awards, on 25 May, held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai.

The Femina Awards are a creation of Femina India magazine, part of the Times of India Group and World Wide Media, and is one of the most prestigious and longest standing awards ceremonies for recognising women’s achievements, over the last 52 years. The Femina ME Awards 2016 represent the first time the ceremony has branched out to the Gulf region, with many Arab nationals claiming these highly sort after accolades for their contributions to society.

Jawaher Al Qasimi won the award entitled, “Unstoppable at Nurturing Young Minds”, for her work in the field of children’s education. As Director of FUNN (Sharjah Media Art for Youth and Children), Jawaher Al Qasimi has been at the forefront of empowering childrento reach their full creative potential; primarily through her work with the organization and as Director of the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF) – the annual event organised by FUNN.

In addition to her work in the areas of film and the arts, Jawaher Al Qasimi recently announced an initiative , at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, that SICFF would be collaboratingwith the UN’s World Food Programme – the largest humanitarian organisation for addressing hunger among families and children and tackling food security issues. This initiative, due to start in July, will assist with food distribution to the Zaatari refugee camp, near the city of Mafraq, in Jordan.

Witnessed by some of the biggest female personalities and dignitaries from the Gulf Region, India and Pakistan; Femina ME recognised and honoured some of the highest achieving Arab women of our time. With Femina ME set to become a mainstay in the region’s awards calendar, outstanding women who make a difference in the arts, music, education, business, social activism and various other fields, will now have a platform from which to highlight the great sacrifices they make and the determined work they do.

Out of the 16 categories at this year’s awards ceremony, Arab women won 10 of the awards; expatriate nationals working in the region won the remaining six awards.