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Harper’s Bazaar Design Awards unveils shortlist

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The inaugural Middle East Design Awards, hosted by Harper’s Bazaar Interiors, has today unveiled its shortlist of nominees. The Design Awards, which aims to recognise and showcase the huge pool of talent within the retail and design brands across the region, will take place on October 29, 2014, at the Oberoi Hotel, Dubai.

The shortlist includes highly recognised and creative brands, such as Pierre Frey for Best Textile Brand, PR Emirates for Best Furniture Story, Harlequin Group and Jo Malone for Most Innovative Brand and Lacroix Maison @ Galleries Lafayette and Armani Casa for Best Fashion to Furniture Brand.

“It was with great difficulty that the judging panel managed to narrow the shortlist down to the four brands we have chosen for each category, but we are very happy with the shortlist,” says Rue Kothari, Awards Spokesperson, Harper’s Bazaar Interiors Design Awards. “The calibre of the entries was very high and we would like to thank all those that entered. We look forward to announcing the winners next week alongside the Emerging Designer of the Year Award and making the Design Awards a staple in the Middle East’s events calendar.”

The awards event will form part of the schedule of events at Downtown Design 2014. To view the full list of nominees, visit www.harpersbazaarinteriorsawards.com.

Six weeks left to enter for 2014 MEPRA Awards

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There are six weeks left to submit entries for the 2014 Middle East Public Relations (MEPRA) Awards. With the submission deadline scheduled for midnight on October 9, 2014, the finalists will be announced on November 2. Sponsored by Mubadala and Fabric as the Platinum and Gold sponsors respectively, the awards will be announced on November 26 at an awards ceremony and gala dinner held at the Westin Hotel Mina Seyahi in Dubai.

Entries for the awards are welcomed from businesses and individuals operating in the public relations sector across the Middle East. This year, thirteen best practice categories and three team categories are available, split into Sectors & Services, People & Agency and Techniques, with two awards not open to entries – Overall Campaign of the Year and Chairman’s Award – Contribution to the PR profession in the Middle East.

For more information and to register, visit www.mepra.org/en/awards/

RedFilo among finalists in Gulf Capital SME Awards

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RedFilo Events has been announced as a finalist in the DHL People & Culture of the Year category for the Gulf Capital SME Awards 2014. Hosted by MEED and in partnership with Gulf Capital as headline sponsor, the awards recognise the UAE’s SMEs, business leaders and entrepreneurs for innovation, growth and success. This year’s Gulf Capital SME Awards will take place on October 29, and will be held at The Ritz Carlton Dubai.

“We are delighted to have been given this recognition by MEED, the region’s most trusted business intelligence providers,” says Pach Ang, Founder and Managing Director, RedFilo. “Our commitment to establishing a safe environment and a positive culture at the workplace for our employees is a primary business objective.”

In addition to the aforementioned DHL People & Culture of the Year, categories for the Gulf Capital SME Awards 2014 include – Gulf Capital Business of the Year, Business Innovation of the Year, Business Leader of the Year, Customer Focus of the Year, Emirati Business of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, MasterCard Small Business of the Year, Online Business of the Year, RSE Startup Business of the Year and Sustainable Business of the Year.

Arab Woman Awards Qatar 2014 judges revealed

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For the third consecutive year, Arab Woman Awards will pay tribute to the high achieving women of Qatar. Launched by ITP Publishing Group in 2009, the Arab Woman Awards recognises Arab women’s achievements in different fields of business, arts, medicine and charity. The 2014 Awards will by hosted by Al Jazeera Anchor, Fairouz Ziani, and will take place on October 20, 2014, at the Intercontinental Doha – The City.

This year’s judges board members will be chaired by Bothaina Al Ansari, HR Director for Ooredoo and Board Member of the Qatar Businesswomen Association, and include Dr. Elman Al Ansari, Director of National Development at Sidra Medical and Research Centre; Mishael Al Ansari, Marketing and Communication Director at Anti-Doping Lab Qatar; Aisha Al Bedded, Creative Director for DarzDesigns; Amal al Athem, Visual Arts Expert at Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage and Nadine El Chaer, Chief Editor of Ahlan! Arabia.

The winners of Arab Woman Awards Qatar 2014 will be announced from a shortlist selected by ITP Publishing Group, based on the nominees’ integrity, expertise in their particular field and as respected members of society. The judges board will follow a strict criteria which includes the nominees’ achievements in the past twelve months, as well as the impact of their work to Qatar.

Nominations open for BBC Good Food ME Awards 2014

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Nominations are now open for the fifth annual BBC Good Food Middle East Awards. The nomination phase will run until September 30, 2014, with two new categories added to the list – Best Sustainable Restaurant and Best Food Blogger – taking the total number of awards to 35. Nominations can be made at www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/awards/2014.

Categories for the BBC Good Food Middle East Awards 2014 include:

FINE DINING: Restaurant of the Year Dubai, Restaurant of the Year Abu Dhabi,  Best New Restaurant Dubai (opened on or after January 2014),   Best New Restaurant Abu Dhabi (opened on or after January 2014), Restaurant of the Year – Doha, Qatar – NEW Category, Chef of the Year, Best European, Best Asian, Best Contemporary British,Best Latin American, Best Indian, Best Middle Eastern, Best Steakhouse, Best Brunch, Best Italian, Best Seafood and Best Experiential Dining Venue (an outlet that offers a unique entertainment experience along with great food)

CASUAL DINING: Best International, Best Indian, Best Asian, Best Middle Eastern and Best Café

INGREDIENTS: Favourite Supermarket, Favourite Speciality Food Store/Market, Favourite Brand for Store Cupboard Items, Favourite Dairy Brand, Favourite Olive Oil Brand, Favourite Tea Brand, Favourite Coffee Brand and Favourite Juice Brand

ACCESSORIES: Favourite Large Kitchen Appliance Brand, Favourite Small Kitchen Appliance Brand and Favourite Tableware Store

NEW CATEGORIES: Best Sustainable Restaurant and Best Food Blogger

The awards ceremony will take place on January 28, 2015, with a venue yet to be confirmed.

Middle East PR Awards 2014 open for entries

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The Middle East PR Awards 2014, hosted by the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), is now open for entries. The deadline for entries is October 9, with the finalists to be announced on November 2 . The awards, which seek to recognise agencies, teams and individuals in the public relations sector in the Middle East, will be announced on November 25 at an awards ceremony and gala dinner held at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi.

The categories for this year’s Middle East PR Awards are split into the following:

Sectors & Services
Consumer Goods, Consumer Services, Corporate Reputation & Image, Corporate Social Responsibility & Environment PR, Government & Communications, Health Care & Services, Internal Communications and Business to Business.

People & Agency
In-House Team of the Year, Agency of the Year and Young Professional of the Year.

Techniques
Best Use of Sponsorship, Best Launch Live Event/Stunt, Best Use of Media Relations – Consumer or Trade, Best Use of Social Media/Digital PR and Best Integrated Campaign.

Not Open to Entries
Overall Campaign of the Year and Chairman’s Award – Contribution to the PR Profession in the Middle East.

For more information and to register, visit www.mepra.org/en/awards/

MEP Middle East Awards deadline announced

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The nomination deadline for this year’s Construction Week MEP Middle East Awards has been announced as October 1, 2014. Construction Week‘s 8th annual MEP Middle East Awards recognises the leading engineering accomplishments from the Middle East’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing sectors in the region.

Categories for this year’s awards include – Contractor of the Year, Consultant of the Year, Specialist Contractor of the Year, Boutique Consultant of the Year, Health and Safety Initiative of the Year, GCC Project of the Year, Mechanical Project of the Year, Electrical Project of the Year, Public Health Project of the Year, Mechanical Engineer of the Year, Electrical Engineer of the Year, Young Engineer of the Year, Project Manager of the Year and Executive of the Year.

The MEP Middle East Awards 2014 are to be held November 26 at the Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa. To nominate, visit www.constructionweekonline.com/mep-awards.

Nominations open for EW Woman of the Year Awards

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Nominations for the Emirates Woman Woman of the Year Awards 2014 are now open. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Emirates Woman Woman of the Year honours women of all nationalities who make a difference in the UAE. Nominations are open to the public now, and can be made at www.emirateswoman.com/awards, with the nomination process due to close June 30, 2014. The winners will be announced on November 5, 2014, in a ceremony taking place at the Montgomery Golf Club in Dubai. The headline sponsor for the awards is Al Ghurair Centre.

Winners of Transform Awards MENA revealed

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The first winners of the inaugural MENA edition of Europe’s Transform Awards were announced last night in a ceremony held at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, with sixteen regional ad, branding and creative agencies honoured with the highly-contested ‘Best in Class’ titles.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the response to the first Transform Awards in the region,” says Andrew Thomas, Founder of Transform and Managing Director of Cravenhill Publishing. “There is a tremendous amount of work in the rebranding, repositioning and brand transformation space and we see huge potential for growth in the coming years. As we’ve seen from the awards, the level of talent in the region is quite outstanding, and we seriously hope that the Transform Awards will set a brand industry benchmark to take it to the next level.”

Reviewing and evaluating the categories were Flavia Barbat, Editor-in-Chief of Branding Magazine; Patrick Lloyd-Bradley, Brand and Marketing Communications Director for Averda International; Ammar Elkurdi, Brand Manager for Volvo Cars, and Stephen McCallion, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company.

Fellow judge, Syed Abdul Karim Tanveer, Director of Brand Experience at Mobily adds, “The Transform Awards are a great platform to celebrate the best from the world of branding. It is a wonderful opportunity for talent in the MENA region to be recognised for their work. This is key to inspiring others and helping the industry to evolve and mature.”

The categories and winners of the Tranform Awards MENA 2014 included – Best Use of a Visual Property – Seef Mall and Unisono; Best External Stakeholder Relations During a Rebrand – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and StartJG; Best Internal Communication During a Rebrand – Dubai Airports and StartJG; Best Implementation of a Rebrand – Gama Aviation and Brash Brands; Best Creative Strategy – Milaha and Bellwether; Best Brand Evolution – du; Best Strategic/Creative Development of a New Brand – Mubadala and Omnia; Best Rebrand to Reflect Changed Mission/Values/Positioning – Intel and Red Peak; Best Brand Consolidation – Toyota (Al-Futtaim Motors) and Bellwether; Best Rebrand of a Digital Property – Xplored for GardaWorld and Bladonmore (Middle East); Best Visual Identity from a Charity/NGO/NFP – Doha Film Institute; Best Visual Identity from the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Sector – MixFM and Turquoise Branding; Best Visual Identity from the Financial Services Sector – Emirates RE and Omnia; Best Visual Identity from the Industrial and Basic Materials Sector – Milaha and Bellwether; Best Visual Identity from the Property Sector – Mubadala and Brash Brands; Best Visual Identity from the Retail Sector – 1915 by Seddiqi and Brash Brands; Best Overall Visual Identity – Mihala; Best Overall Visual Identity Bellwether for its work with Milaha, and Grand Prix – du.

Alongside the awards, Transform MENA held a full day conference attended by branding and communications professionals from the MENA region. The conference included a lineup of sessions discussing the most successful rebranding, repositioning and brand transformation projects globally and in the MENA, and saw the launch of Transform Magazine, a global publication on brand development.

Ahlan! Awards Abu Dhabi 2014 winners revealed

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The winners of the Ahlan! Awards Abu Dhabi 2014 were announced yesterday during an awards party held at 01NE Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The annual celebration presented 16 awards to Abu Dhabi’s most sought-after attractions, businesses and personalities, and were selected by Ahlan! readers through nominations which were split into two phases, initially voting for a longlist and nominating again to compile the shortlist.

The winners of the Ahlan! Awards Abu Dhabi 2014 included: Best Hotel – Emirates Palace; Best Fine Dining – Zuma, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi; Best Visitor Attraction – Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque; Best Shopping Mall – Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi; Best Brunch – Friday Marina Brunch, Intercontinental, Abu Dhabi; Best Sporting Event – Abu Dhabi F1; Best Spa – Anantara Spa, Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara; Best Music Event – The Rolling Stones (February 2014); Best Ladies Night – Jazz Bar & Dining, Hilton Abu Dhabi; Best Radio DJ – Kris Fade (The Kris Fade Show, Virgin Radio Dubai); Best Bar – Jazz Bar & Dining, Hilton Abu Dhabi; Best Club DJ – DJ Rabih Karam (aka DJ Angelo); Best Nightclub – 01NE, Yas Island; Best Personality – Kris Fade, Virgin Radio Dubai and Publisher’s Recognition Award – Harmeek Singh, PLAN B.