Iman Ben Chaibah announced as recipient of the 2014 YDPE Award in the UAE
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 17 March 2014: The winner of the British Council's Young Digital Publishing Entrepreneur Award has been announced by the British Council as Iman Ben Chaibah, founder and Editor-in-chief of the first digital Emirati magazine 'Sail E'. She was given the prize following judging and interviews by an awards jury composed of Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, the Founder of Kalimat Publishing Group and Matthew Cowdery, Middle East Sales Manager for Hachette UK Ltd.
The award fosters collaboration between UK and UAE professionals and enhances unified learning and development in the creative field by connecting participants from different parts of the world who have excelled in the digital publishing sector.
Commenting on this year's award, Marc Jessel, Country Director, British Council UAE: "The Digital Publishing Entrepreneur Award' exposed the existing UAE talents in the digital publishing sector. We are confident that Iman Be Chaibah - the winner of the 2014 award - will be a catalyst in developing the sector and building a bridge between the UK and the UAE for the exchange of knowledge, experience and creative talents whilst benefiting from the opportunity to interact with other young publishing entrepreneurs from around the world."
She was selected based on her talents and skills in the publishing sector. She is a successful Emirati entrepreneur, as founder and editor-in-chief of Sail eMagazine, which was launched in March 2010, as the first and only independent Emirati online monthly magazine with English content created by UAE Nationals.
Sail, a monthly online magazine, filled the gap in the online publications scene allowing the magazine to go viral and global with a zero carbon footprint. An additional gap was filled as the UAE's English media that doesn't always represent or include Emirati perspective as prominently in comparison with the UAE's Arabic media.
Iman will receive a one week programme in the UK, from 5-12 April 2014 where she will be given insight into the UK's rapidly evolving digital publishing sector and to develop opportunities for commercial and collaborative work. The programme's agenda includes curated access to all three days of the London Book Fair, the opportunity to present business ideas to a panel of judges and other delegates at the London Book Fair, and networking sessions with international participants and young publishing entrepreneurs.
Iman Ben Chaibah said: "I am very honoured to receive the 2014 Young Creative Entrepreneur Digital Publishing Award. This award is a chance for me to present my work to the rest of the world while learning from experienced professional and young entrepreneurs around the world to further develop my skills. I am looking forward to attending the programme in the UK in April to know more about the digital publishing sector in the UK and bring this knowledge back to the UAE."
Jury member Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and CEO of Kalimat Publishing Group commented: "Digital publishing is fast becoming one of the most important sectors of the publishing industry and, as a member of the publishing community, I am extremely proud to see so many innovative young leaders step forward to make a real impact in this field. This prestigious award acknowledges the amazing work that is being done by young publishers to advance digital publishing and I hope to see many more creative individuals take on the challenge of making their mark in the publishing world."
Fellow Jury member, Matthew Cowdery, Middle East Sales Manager for Hachette UK Ltd., explained: "It was my pleasure to take part in judging the UAE round of the International Young Creative Entrepreneur- Digital Publishing Award 2014, which provided a fantastic opportunity to meet and interact with some of the leading creative minds in our local industry. The award provides an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs to engage with the creative industries in the UK - an area in the economy of which Britain can be justifiably proud of, and where Hachette UK plays a leading role in the publishing sector.
-Ends-About The British Council
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 7000 staff - including 2000 teachers - work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the Arts and delivering education and society programmes.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org
For More information or queries, please contact:
Taghreed Oraibi
Associate Account Director | BPG Cohn & Wolfe PR
M: 050 7943528
E: Taghreed@bpgcohnwolfe.com
© Press Release 2014
