On Tuesday 30th of April 2019, the Arabic Cultural House, Der Divan launched a unique initiative in Europe called "The Arabic Divan Calligraphy Prize in Berlin". This unprecedented initiative reinforces the art of Arabic calligraphy, highlighting the beauty of its unique script that embraces simplicity and complexity at the same time.
The launch of the Arab Cultural House - Der Divan for this award is to encourage the creativity of all calligraphers in the world in a time dominated by means of technology and smart phones.
The committee decided to start its first competition for this award by writing the Basmalah "Bismillah El Rahman El Rahim" as the opening of this competition, which will be organized annually. The Prize value is 16,000 Euro, divided into four levels, so that the jury will determine three of them according to their evaluation criteria, the fourth level of the award will be based on Public vote through the social media Network of the Arabic Cultural House – Der Divan.
The committee also announced the establishment of an exhibition of competitive works, and the printing of works involved in the form of a book for documentation. The competition will start on May 2nd, 2019 and end on July 1st, 2019, which will be the deadline to receive any submission.
The ceremony was held at the premises of the Arab Cultural House – der Divan in Berlin. H.E. Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Arab Cultural House and Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Federal Republic of Germany delivered a welcoming speech. The event was attended by H.E. Mustapha Adib, Ambassador of Lebanon and Dean of Arab Diplomatic Corps. H.E. Mr. Bashir Al Zoubi, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Mr. Aden Mohammed Dlita, Ambassador of Djibouti to the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Mr. Aiman Mezyek, Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. In addition to the Chargé d'Affaires of the Palestinian Embassy, the Chargé d'affaires of Embassy of Sudan, and a number of Arab and foreign diplomats. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Berlin government, the German Foreign Ministry, the German Parliament, other dignitaries, And bloggers. Professor Dr. Ryan Abdullah, member of the Advisory Board of of the Arabic Cultural House and the General Supervisor of the Award, presented the conditions for participation in the competition and revealed the logo of the prize.