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Voting opens for BBC Good Food Awards 2015

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Voting has now opened for the sixth annual BBC Good Food Middle East Awards, hosted by BBC Good Food Middle East, part of CPI Media Group. There are 28 awards up for grabs this year, with categories including ‘Chef of the Year’, ‘Best Brunch’ and ‘Best Food Blogger’. Consumers are encouraged to vote for their favourite nominees in each category online, with the exception of Chef of the Year, who will be determined by an independent judging panel.

To vote, visit www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/awards/2015

Style.com/Arabia and DDFC launch Fashion Prize

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Style.com/Arabia and the Dubai Design & Fashion Council (DDFC) have announced the formation of the Style.com/Arabia – DDFC Fashion Prize, an annual endowment for the Middle East’s most promising fashion talents.

The Style.com/Arabia – DDFC Fashion Prize has been launched in partnership with luxury e-commerce site Farfetch, and addresses the DDFC’s mandate to invigorate regional talent. It will provide a global platform for emerging Middle Eastern designers to showcase their abilities, while simultaneously establishing quality control, standards, mentorship and broader visibility for the industry.

The prize will be overseen by a selection committee comprising of executives from Style.com/Arabia, DDFC, Farfetch, and both regional and international fashion communities, including: Tim Blanks – Editor, Style.com, Peter Dundas – Creative Director, Roberto Cavalli, Zuhair Murad – Founder and Designer, Zuhair Murad, Stephanie Horton – Chief Marketing Officer, Farfetch, Nez Gebreel – CEO, DDFC, Shashi Menon – CEO and Publisher, Style.com/Arabia, Sofia Guellaty – Editor-in-Chief, Style.com/Arabia, Patrick Chalhoub – Joint CEO, Chalhoub Group and Afef Jnifen – International model, presenter, and brand ambassadress.

The inaugural winner will be announced this autumn. The winning designer will receive a financial grant, the opportunity to produce a capsule collection for Farfetch, a year of mentorship from a collection of highly esteemed mentors, media/press coverage and an advertising campaign, collectively representing a value of over US $250,000.

“Style.com/Arabia‘s vision has always been to elevate the regional fashion scene to a truly global level – and to increasingly bring the world to this region,” says Shashi Menon, CEO and Publisher, Style.com/Arabia. “The Style.com/Arabia – DDFC Fashion Prize represents the culmination of years of effort and is another step we’ve taken to provide our burgeoning fashion ecosystem with the structure it needs to truly take flight.”

Full entry and application details can be found at http://arabia.style.com/fashionprize/

Middle East Event Awards shortlist announced

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The Middle East Event Awards 2015 shortlist has been announced. The awards have been split into 20 categories – including Best Corporate Product or Service Launch, Best Event Design, and Employer of the Year – and each is designed to showcase the diversity and excellence of the events and suppliers operating in the Middle East’s event industry. Shortlisted companies include Entourage Marketing and Events, dmg events ME, Viola Communications, ExtraCake and Flash Entertainment.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 3 2015 at the JW Marriot Marquis, decided by a panel of renowned industry figures.

7-Day Brief Powered by YouTube winners announced

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The winners of The Seven Day Brief Powered by YouTube have been announced today as Shafiq Alam and Moe Sarhi. Brought to the region by Dubai Lynx, the creative competition aimed to engage the MENA region in helping to shed light on a social cause by partnering with UN organisation UN WOMEN to focus on the issue of abuse against women in the Middle East. With entries open to those living in Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen, the competition sought to help raise funds for UN WOMEN who aim to establish 24-hour hotlines for survivors of domestic violence.

The winning team, whose targeted advertising video won the judges vote for its ‘strong, impactful message and creative filling of the brief’,  will now be granted a trip to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2015, as well as the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity.

Time Out Dubai announces awards dates

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Time Out Dubai has announced the dates for its 2015 Restaurant Awards and Music & Nightlife Awards. Both events will take place in March at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, with the Restaurant Awards scheduled for March 18 and the Music & Nightlife Awards scheduled for March 24.

Celebrating the past 12 months of hard work across Dubai’s restaurant and nightlife industries, the 2015 edition of the Restaurant Awards will see the event celebrate its tenth anniversary; to mark the occasion, Time Out Dubai has added a Restaurant of the Decade category to celebrate the longevity and influence of the show.

The venue for the Music & Lifestyle Awards After-Party will be revealed following the announcement of the shortlist, with the shortlists for both awards revealed in the next two weeks. The Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards shortlist will be announced on February 15 and the Time Out Dubai Music & NightLife Awards shortlist revealed on February 22. The shortlist announcement will be made via www.timeoutdubai.com.

Tbreak Awards 2014 winners announced

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The winners of the third annual Tbreak Awards were announced last night at a ceremony held at The H Hotel, Dubai, highlighting the best in the Middle East’s technology and gaming industry. Hosted by Tbreak Media – which publishes Tbreak Tech, IGN Middle East and AskMen Middle East – nominations for the awards were based on products reviewed by the team at Tbreak.com, with winners being selected by a public online voting system as well as a panel of expert judges.

“It’s always a pleasure to recognise and award the best from the industry,” says Abbas Jaffar Ali, Director, Tbreak Media. “The Tbreak Awards are our way of honouring the outstanding products, services and companies from the Middle East each year.”

With a number of subcategories in each section, the Tbreak Awards were divided into the Technology Awards, with the Sony Xperia Z3 Dual winning Best Phone and GITEX Technology Week picking up Best Industry Event; the Technology Awards as judged by the public, with Souq.com being awarded as Best Online Retail and dubizzle taking home the Best Regional App, the Video Games Awards, which saw Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft) winning the Best Press Launch and the Best Gaming Event going to GAMES14; and finally the Video Games Awards Judged by Public Vote, with Geekay Games securing the Best Gaming Social Media and Sony Playstation Middle East awarded Best Gaming Brands.

The full lineup of winners can be found on www.tbreak.com.

Patronage confirmed for Arab Woman Awards KSA

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Her Royal Highness Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud, CEO of Alfa International and Al Hama LLC, has reconfirmed her patronage and position as Chair of the Judges Board for the Arab Woman Awards KSA for the second consecutive year. The Awards aim to raise public awareness on the significant achievements by Arab women in the region and to provide young women with inspirational role models.

Established in 2009 by ITP Group, the Arab Woman Awards has to-date recognised over 230 women from the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia across a diversity of fields that include business, energy, entrepreneurship, charity, media, government and literature.

“Year after year the Arab Woman Awards has provided a platform where similar minded women can come together and thrive in their accomplishments,” says HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud. “It is a great privilege to be part of such a noble award ceremony that not only highlights the important contributions of women in the region but also imparts inspiration for the next generation of young Saudi women.”

Other Judges Board members for this year’s awards include Lina Al Maena, Founder of Jeddah United Sports Company; Amina Al Jasim, prominent Saudi fashion designer and Founder of Dar Bresam Fashion; Lateefa Alwaalan, Founder and General Manager of Yatooq and Basma Felimban, internationally recognised Saudi artist.

Sue Holt, Executive Director, ITP Consumer and Founder of the Arab Woman Awards adds, “We are proud to be able to provide a platform for such talented individuals and a means of celebrating their success. The standard of nominees is high in KSA as the women are highly educated and very determined individuals.”

With nominations flooding in for exceptional women from across the Kingdom, the 2015 Arab Woman Awards KSA is expected to present the richest field yet of inspiring women. There will be twenty awards provided as there has been an addition of four new award categories this year – New Media, Finance, Energy and Legal. The winners will be presented at a female-only gala dinner held at the Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh at the end of March, hosted by celebrity presenter Diala Makki.

Transform MENA awards now accepting entries

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The Transform MENA awards – for new and evolving brand and rebrand campaigns – is now accepting entries from companies, agencies and organisations in the Middle East and North Africa region. Returning to Dubai for the second time this June, Transform aims to recognise brand development work that is well thought-out, innovative and creative.

“2014 was an incredible year for Transform – with the launch of the magazine and the awards programmes in both the MENA and Asia-Pacific regions,” says Liz Foggitt, Publishing and Event Manager, Transform magazine. “We’ve had an extremely positive reaction to our publication and events, so we’re excited to launch the 2015 MENA programme. This year, we’re expecting to see the events grow and commend the most outstanding and inspiring branding work done in the past 18 months.”

For discounted entry to the awards, entries must be placed before February 24, 2015, with the final deadline set for March 10, 2015. Full entry details and applications can be found on www.transformmagazine.net/awards/mena.

DMF 2015 & MENA Digital Awards agenda announced

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The fourth annual Digital Media Forum (DMF) 2015 is set to focus on rapid advancements in digital technology and its application in the region’s marketing sector, taking place on March 24, 2015, at The Westin hotel in Dubai. Held under the banner ‘Digital Technology: Bringing the Future Closer,’ DMF 2015 will assess the influence of the evolving digital landscape on businesses, brands and consumers in the region and examine the challenges it presents moving forwards. The event will host an array of renowned speakers and international experts from well-known marketing organisations in Europe and the US.

“The last decade has witnessed seismic changes in business, society and marketing,” says Najla Semaan Mazboudi, Managing Director of SpotOn, Owner and Founder of DMF. “If this is any indication of the future, the next few years will encompass more changes than the past decade alone. Triggered by advancements in technology and changing consumer adoption habits, the digital universe is taking a central role in every facet of our lives.”

Specific topics under the DMF banner this year include: ‘rise of the user architect,’ ‘social commerce vs. e-commerce,’ ‘rise of the content officer,’ ‘harnessing the power of big data analytic in building business and brands’ and ‘the future of search and social media algorithms in the changing landscape of communications.’ Presenters are chosen for expertise in their specialised area of the digital sector.

The 2015 MENA Digital Awards Ceremony is to take place at the same venue on the evening of March 25. Regarding this, Najla adds, “The MENA Digital Awards is the only marketing industry awards programme in the region that focuses solely on the digital sector. It was established last year to honour success and excellence in the sector, thereby helping to promote the best in digital marketing planning, creativity, innovation and effectiveness. Our jury this year is composed of 14 international industry experts who will be lending their vast knowledge and experience in the judging of various categories.”

Full details and information on registration can be found at www.digitalmediaforum.me.

Arab Social Media Award ceremony date announced

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The ceremony for the first Arab Social Media Award – an initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – is to take place February 23, 2015. The Award recognises the most important social media initiatives across the Arab region, honouring companies and individuals in various sectors who have used social media to help establish a positive interactive environment for innovation and creativity.

“The strong interest and appreciation gained by the Award emphasises the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about the future, and his appreciation for the influential role that social media plays in our region and the world in guiding, shaping and accomplishing events,” says His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Arab Social Media Award. “It has helped in further strengthening Dubai’s position and consolidating its leading role.”

Entries have been received from 22 countries globally, with significant response from the UAE as well as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Award includes 20 categories – Government Sector, Private Sector, Blogs, Media, Sport, Tolerance, CSR, Education, Youth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Economy, Politics, Health, Arts, Safety, Security, Shopping, Environment, Tourism and Entertainment, as well as the Personality of the Year Award.