Under the directives of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Chairman of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Board of Trustees, the Award’s General Secretariat participated in all date festivals held in the United Arab Emirates, for this year, 2023, starting with the "Liwa Dates Festival" in Al Dhafra Region from the 17^th – 30^th of July, 2023, “Liwa Ajman Dates Festival" in Ajman Emirate, from the 27^th – 30^th of July, 2023, and “Al Dhaid Dates Festival" in Al Sharjah Emirate, from the 27^th – 30^th of July, 2023. H.E. Sheikh Nahayan praised the directives and continuous support of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court, as His Highness extended special attention to the date palm tree, and provided a great opportunity and incentive for workers in the field of date palm cultivation and processing, to work hard in order to develop this sector, at the national, regional and international levels.

This was confirmed by Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Secretary General of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, where he pointed out that this year, 2023, is a year full of performance and interaction with date palm growers and producers in the UAE. He also praised the high level reached by the local Dates Festivals, and its high ability to serve UAE date palm growers and promote this sector and its workers. Where the Award’s participation in all festivals (as followed every year) aims to provide an opportunity to date growers, producers, and manufacturers in the UAE, to compete in the International Award, as well as the Local Award, and which targets workers in this sector. In addition to international competitions that targets the youth, who love the date palm tree, and which are organized annually by the Award’s General Secretariat, since its establishment in 2007, and up to date.

Dr. A. Zaid, also added that the Liwa Dates Festival, has become a milestone in the field of dates festivals regionally, with its rich history of excellence and success, as it represents a great position among similar festivals. Over the course of 19 years, it has attracted thousands of those interested in date palm cultivation and from across the UAE. The “Liwa Ajman Dates Festival" during its 8 sessions, and "Al Dhaid Dates Festival" during its 6 sessions, also contributed to motivating date growers and producers in both the Emirate of Ajman and Al Sharjah, to improve the service of the Blessed Tree, for achieving a higher quality of date products, and the ability to compete in date awards. It also created a space of positivity among date growers, in addition to exchanging experiences and relationships between workers in this sector.

The Award also provides (through its pavilion in the Dates Festivals) the opportunity for those interested to compete for the following:

1. The International Award: Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, which includes five main categories. Where the total value of the prize for all 5 categories, is 4.25 million Emirati Dirhams.
2. The Local Award: The Distinguished and Innovative Farmer Award in the UAE, and which includes five main categories, with a total prize value of one million Emirati Dirhams, for all categories.
3. The International Competition: The International Date Palm Photography competition, and which targets the youth, and includes two main categories. Where the value of the competition’s prize is 60,000 Emirati Dirhams.
4. The International Competition: The International Date Palm Poetry competition, and which targets the youth, and includes two main categories. Where the value of the competition’s prize is 60,000 Emirati Dirhams.

In addition to providing the opportunity to acquire a free electronic copy of all the Award’s publications, through its Electronic Library, and which includes more than 673 scientific sources, and well as the International Date Palm Library, which includes more than 230 scientific sources, the video library and which includes more than 195 videos, specialized in the field of date palm cultivation and production, in several Languages. Where all electronic resources are available to the public and can be downloaded for free through the Award’s website ( https://www.kiaai.ae/ ).