KUWAIT: Today marks the  20th anniversary of launching the Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award, which started in 2001 as the first informatics award in the Arab World.

In this regard, chairperson of the award’s board of trustees Sheikha Ayeda Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah expressed her pride in responding to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s call to adapt new methodologies in the post-corona world, which will be far much different, adding that the award would continue its digital transformations to become a modern institution ready for the foreseeable future and capable of effectively managing its administrative and technical business online.

She added that the 20th anniversary is a turning point towards phase-five which would be launched online within the coming weeks including academic informatics courses, ‘Shift Al-Kuwait’ competition, informatics award and other activities inspired by HH the Amir’s wish to build human-based stable and sustainable economy.

“It gives us great pride this year to see that HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali’s futuristic vision when he launched the award on June 15, 2001 has become so tangible, which makes us launch this year’s award on the same date; June 15, 2020 to emphasize the great role the award has played  through rapid digital shifts and transformations individuals and institutions have  achieved in our region, having positive impacts on education, health, finance and other disciplines during this global pandemic,” she added.

Sheikha Ayeda added that the ‘Shift Al-Kuwait’ platform was launched to boost informatics awareness through social media networks and that ‘Tadween’ was launched for Arab bloggers with the aim of preserving the Arabic language in 2013, followed by the ‘Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Humanitarian Activities Platform’ in 2014. “On realizing the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, the award renewed its strategy in 2016 to enhance know-how and digital industry economies through supporting technical pioneers”, she underlined.