emirates7 - Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood (SCMC), and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), the SCMC announced the launch of the “Child Media Award 2026.”
The award is introduced in cooperation with the Department of Family and Childhood within the Social Affairs Sector of the League of Arab States, and with the support of the UAE Media Council, in implementation of the recommendation issued by the 29th session of the Arab Childhood Committee held on 18 September 2025.
The award aims to encourage media institutions and individuals to produce innovative, high-quality Arabic content that serves children’s issues, contributes to building a responsible media environment that supports children’s rights, and promotes human and social values.
It also seeks to highlight the influential role of media in shaping generations’ awareness and creating a positive narrative around children’s issues, in addition to showcasing the pioneering efforts of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak in supporting and empowering children at both the Arab and international levels.
The award seeks to fill a clear gap in the landscape of Arab awards, particularly as no specialised institutional-level award exists in the Arab world that focuses on child-directed media under the umbrella of the League of Arab States. Most existing awards concentrate on general literary or cultural output, without explicitly addressing the role of media in shaping the awareness of the Arab child.
In this context, the importance of the award lies in representing a qualitative step that fills this gap by providing a structured competitive framework with a unified regional dimension that enhances the value of child-focused media work.
The award contributes to strengthening Arab identity and shared values, with clear distinctiveness through its focus on works produced in the Arabic language. This ensures that Arab identity remains at the heart of the creative and media process, and that the shared values of Arab societies form the primary reference. This, in turn, allows the award to play an active role in reinforcing the status of the Arabic language while simultaneously promoting the shared cultural and social identity of the Arab nation through child-oriented media.
Through its various categories, the award enhances child-focused media as a vital and long-term investment in the future by helping build conscious and responsible generations. Media content directed at children helps instill values, foster creativity, strengthen resilience against violence, extremism, and the negative impacts of unregulated content.
The award draws from international conventions and treaties related to children’s rights, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and adds an Arab dimension that reflects the region’s cultural and social specificity. It not only adheres to international standards but also provides a unified Arab framework that positions child-focused media as a tool to protect rights and simultaneously embody authentic Arab values—granting the award a distinguished regional and international standing.
Entries submitted across the award’s categories will be evaluated by a specialised committee selected in cooperation with the Media and Communication Sector and the Family and Childhood Department within the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States. This ensures transparency, neutrality, and the adoption of the highest professional and technical standards in the judging process.
Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Office and Chairman of the UAE Media Council, said that the launch of the Child Media Award marks a leading Arab milestone reflecting deep awareness of the importance of investing in future generations.
“Child-focused media has become a necessity that keeps pace with the rapid transformations in the media industry and ensures that our children receive responsible content that upholds human values and preserves Arab identity.”
Al Hamed expressed pride that the UAE is the supporter of this pioneering Arab initiative under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, whose initiatives and achievements have formed a protective umbrella for children at the Arab and international levels.
He added that this award continues the UAE’s role in adopting projects that elevate the status of children and establish an institutional media vision that protects their rights and enhances their awareness.
He said, “The UAE will remain a key supporter of every Arab initiative that contributes to protecting children, enhancing their awareness, and strengthening their values. We take pride in our constructive partnership with the League of Arab States to launch this award with a shared Arab spirit and a unified goal: building a capable, aware, and resilient Arab generation that strides confidently into the future.”
For her part, Reem bint Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, said that launching this award from the UAE, in partnership with the League of Arab States and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, gives it a broad Arab dimension and a civilizational message, affirming the UAE’s commitment to supporting childhood as a humanitarian and developmental priority.
She pointed to the rapid changes the Arab region has witnessed in recent years in the media landscape due to the digital revolution and the increased reliance on new platforms as primary sources of information and entertainment. This has placed the Arab child amid major challenges related to content quality, adherence to ethical and humanitarian values, and the protection of their rights in an open and borderless media environment.
She added that one of the award’s main goals is to encourage Arabic content dedicated to children, helping to strengthen their aspirations toward a future supported by better education, a more advanced economy, and overall well-being. It also supports instilling positive values in children, developing their skills, helping them acquire new abilities, and protecting them from negative phenomena such as bullying, pressure, stress, and abuse.
She explained that despite the abundance of media and cultural awards in the Arab world, most focus on adults and decision-makers, while child-focused media remains limited in incentives and recognition—necessitating the launch of the Child Media Award as a pioneering Arab platform that highlights the role of media in building generational awareness and provides an institutional framework that honors and motivates outstanding efforts.
She expressed her highest appreciation and gratitude to H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak for her patronage, guidance, and continuous initiatives to provide the best environment for the Arab child, protecting them from negative influences that may affect their physical and psychological well-being and ensuring proper upbringing and dignified living, contributing to raising generations capable of serving their nations and advancing their paths toward the desired future.
She also expressed thanks to the League of Arab States for its cooperation in preparing the award and its outstanding contributions that enabled the award to be presented in the best form to achieve its intended objectives.
Arab Ministers of Information had approved, at the conclusion of the 55th session of the Council of Arab Information Ministers held at the League of Arab States headquarters, the adoption of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak’s initiative to give the Child Media Award a broad Arab dimension, reflecting its social, educational, and developmental significance and enabling the production of creative content that serves children’s issues.
The award is introduced in cooperation with the Department of Family and Childhood within the Social Affairs Sector of the League of Arab States, and with the support of the UAE Media Council, in implementation of the recommendation issued by the 29th session of the Arab Childhood Committee held on 18 September 2025.
The award aims to encourage media institutions and individuals to produce innovative, high-quality Arabic content that serves children’s issues, contributes to building a responsible media environment that supports children’s rights, and promotes human and social values.
It also seeks to highlight the influential role of media in shaping generations’ awareness and creating a positive narrative around children’s issues, in addition to showcasing the pioneering efforts of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak in supporting and empowering children at both the Arab and international levels.
The award seeks to fill a clear gap in the landscape of Arab awards, particularly as no specialised institutional-level award exists in the Arab world that focuses on child-directed media under the umbrella of the League of Arab States. Most existing awards concentrate on general literary or cultural output, without explicitly addressing the role of media in shaping the awareness of the Arab child.
In this context, the importance of the award lies in representing a qualitative step that fills this gap by providing a structured competitive framework with a unified regional dimension that enhances the value of child-focused media work.
The award contributes to strengthening Arab identity and shared values, with clear distinctiveness through its focus on works produced in the Arabic language. This ensures that Arab identity remains at the heart of the creative and media process, and that the shared values of Arab societies form the primary reference. This, in turn, allows the award to play an active role in reinforcing the status of the Arabic language while simultaneously promoting the shared cultural and social identity of the Arab nation through child-oriented media.
Through its various categories, the award enhances child-focused media as a vital and long-term investment in the future by helping build conscious and responsible generations. Media content directed at children helps instill values, foster creativity, strengthen resilience against violence, extremism, and the negative impacts of unregulated content.
The award draws from international conventions and treaties related to children’s rights, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and adds an Arab dimension that reflects the region’s cultural and social specificity. It not only adheres to international standards but also provides a unified Arab framework that positions child-focused media as a tool to protect rights and simultaneously embody authentic Arab values—granting the award a distinguished regional and international standing.
Entries submitted across the award’s categories will be evaluated by a specialised committee selected in cooperation with the Media and Communication Sector and the Family and Childhood Department within the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States. This ensures transparency, neutrality, and the adoption of the highest professional and technical standards in the judging process.
Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Office and Chairman of the UAE Media Council, said that the launch of the Child Media Award marks a leading Arab milestone reflecting deep awareness of the importance of investing in future generations.
“Child-focused media has become a necessity that keeps pace with the rapid transformations in the media industry and ensures that our children receive responsible content that upholds human values and preserves Arab identity.”
Al Hamed expressed pride that the UAE is the supporter of this pioneering Arab initiative under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, whose initiatives and achievements have formed a protective umbrella for children at the Arab and international levels.
He added that this award continues the UAE’s role in adopting projects that elevate the status of children and establish an institutional media vision that protects their rights and enhances their awareness.
He said, “The UAE will remain a key supporter of every Arab initiative that contributes to protecting children, enhancing their awareness, and strengthening their values. We take pride in our constructive partnership with the League of Arab States to launch this award with a shared Arab spirit and a unified goal: building a capable, aware, and resilient Arab generation that strides confidently into the future.”
For her part, Reem bint Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, said that launching this award from the UAE, in partnership with the League of Arab States and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, gives it a broad Arab dimension and a civilizational message, affirming the UAE’s commitment to supporting childhood as a humanitarian and developmental priority.
She pointed to the rapid changes the Arab region has witnessed in recent years in the media landscape due to the digital revolution and the increased reliance on new platforms as primary sources of information and entertainment. This has placed the Arab child amid major challenges related to content quality, adherence to ethical and humanitarian values, and the protection of their rights in an open and borderless media environment.
She added that one of the award’s main goals is to encourage Arabic content dedicated to children, helping to strengthen their aspirations toward a future supported by better education, a more advanced economy, and overall well-being. It also supports instilling positive values in children, developing their skills, helping them acquire new abilities, and protecting them from negative phenomena such as bullying, pressure, stress, and abuse.
She explained that despite the abundance of media and cultural awards in the Arab world, most focus on adults and decision-makers, while child-focused media remains limited in incentives and recognition—necessitating the launch of the Child Media Award as a pioneering Arab platform that highlights the role of media in building generational awareness and provides an institutional framework that honors and motivates outstanding efforts.
She expressed her highest appreciation and gratitude to H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak for her patronage, guidance, and continuous initiatives to provide the best environment for the Arab child, protecting them from negative influences that may affect their physical and psychological well-being and ensuring proper upbringing and dignified living, contributing to raising generations capable of serving their nations and advancing their paths toward the desired future.
She also expressed thanks to the League of Arab States for its cooperation in preparing the award and its outstanding contributions that enabled the award to be presented in the best form to achieve its intended objectives.
Arab Ministers of Information had approved, at the conclusion of the 55th session of the Council of Arab Information Ministers held at the League of Arab States headquarters, the adoption of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak’s initiative to give the Child Media Award a broad Arab dimension, reflecting its social, educational, and developmental significance and enabling the production of creative content that serves children’s issues.