Cultural Personality of the Year Award

The Cultural Personality of the Year Award is an annual national cultural award in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, presented by the Ministry of Culture to leading Saudi cultural figures who have contributed to enriching and developing a specific cultural sector in the Kingdom, have played a prominent and vital role in increasing cultural awareness, and have participated in creating tangible cultural momentum.

The award was launched as part of the National Cultural Awards initiative announced in 2020, under the framework of the Quality of Life Program, one of the programs of Saudi Vision 2030. It aims to celebrate the achievements, contributions, and cultural productions of Saudi male and female intellectuals across various cultural domains in the Kingdom. Additionally, it acknowledges the contributions of businesswomen and businessmen, as well as the contributions of individuals and international cultural institutions.

The Cultural Personality of the Year Award aims to celebrate and honor cultural pioneers in the Kingdom who have enriched the cultural sector and contributed to its tangible development in one of its paths. It recognizes individuals with cultural productions characterized by cumulative, qualitative, and enriching contributions, demonstrated through an extensive and cumulative cultural output in terms of quantity and qualitatively in terms of its intellectual or artistic value within their field.

Nomination for the Cultural Personality of the Year Award is done by specialized judging committees for influential cultural pioneers without external nominations. This includes Saudi cultural pioneers and individuals who have contributed to enriching and developing a cultural sector in the Kingdom, as well as Saudi figures who have played a significant and vital role in increasing cultural awareness and fostering tangible cultural dynamics.

This is in line with the "Culture for Youth" Award, as they are the only two awards among the Culture Initiative Awards that are granted to individuals nominated by specialized committees within the Ministry of Culture without external nominations.

Candidates for the National Cultural Awards must be Saudi nationals or children of Saudi female citizens, with consideration given to the specified age criteria for each award individually. Their nomination information must be accurate and complete, and they must adhere to the deadlines for submitting entries.

Nominations are accepted in the announced categories by the Ministry of Culture through three stages: the first stage is the "Platform Launch and Nomination" stage; the second stage is the "Screening and Shortlisting" stage, during which all nominations that meet the specified criteria for each award qualify, and the eligible nominations proceed to the judging stage; the third stage is the "Judging and Announcement of Winners" stage, where judging panels consisting of top local and international experts in each award category evaluate the best finalists to select the winners of each award. The winners are announced at the ceremony dedicated to the National Cultural Awards.

The cultural pioneers in the Kingdom were honored with the Cultural Personality of the Year Award in recognition of their efforts in enriching culture and creativity in its inaugural edition in 2021. The esteemed Sheikh and literary figure, Mohammed Bin Nasser al-Aboudi, was the recipient, in recognition of his rich literary journey that encompassed various realms including travel literature, language, and the preservation and documentation of cultural heritage.

In September 2022, Dr. Abdulaziz al-Sabeel, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue and the Secretary-General of the King Faisal International Prize, was awarded the Cultural Personality of the Year Award. This recognition is a tribute to his rich literary and cultural journey, as well as his responsibilities in cultural administration, where he held several leadership and academic positions, serving the Saudi culture, intellectuals, and writers. Additionally, as a researcher and literary thinker, he contributed to the issuance of several research papers and publications.

In September 2023, the literary figure Abu Abdulrahman Bin Aqeel al-Dhaheri was awarded the Cultural Personality of the Year Award in recognition of his significant literary and cultural contributions over many years in the cultural field. During this time, he authored a rich collection of literary and cultural works spanning various fields such as language, literature, philosophy, art, Islamic jurisprudence, and history.