Taawon’s Distinction in Culture Award

WA Awards

Taawon’s Distinction in Culture Award : The Late Naim Abdulhadi Culture Award, Award Value: $50,000 "We will get there some day"

Established in 2004, the Excellence award recognizes excelling NGOs that are contributing to the social, economic, and cultural development of Palestine. It was established out of a deep appreciation of the innovative and excelling contributions of civil society organizations to Palestine and Palestinians.

This Award was adopted by the Shakhshir family for nine years (2007-2015). Starting 2016, the award continues through a generous contribution from Abdulhadi family.


The Late Naim Abdel Hadi

Born in Nablus in 1912; attended An-Najah National School in Nablus; graduated from the AUB with a BSc in Civil Engineering in 1934. Served for three years as an engineer in the Public Works Department under the British Mandate, then as District Governor until the end of the mandate (1948). He served as the Provincial Governor of Hebron, then of Ajlon, until his resignation in 1951.  He took on a number of political posts; elected Mayor of Nablus in the 1951 municipal elections (until 1955),  appointed Minister of Public Works; elected as member of the Jordanian Parliament; Minister of National Economy in 1956-57. He left to live in Damascus and later moved to Cairo until 1981 when he returned to Amman, where he passed away in May 1996.


The Late Abdul Aziz Shakhshir

Mr. Abdul Aziz Shakhshir (Abu Akram) was born in Jerusalem in 1925. Like hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians, Mr. Shakhshir was displaced from Palestine as a result of the Nakba. He moved to Jordan after being attacked by gunshot for the third time. He met and married his life partner Lamis in Jordan. The couple eventually moved to Kuwait in 1957 where Mr. Shakhshir started several entrepreneurial endeavors. He stayed in Kuwait until the year 1990, during this period he expanded his business activities to include Lebanon and Libya.

Mr. Shakhshir’s devoted a significant amount of his time and resources to the strife for Palestine’s development. Being a strong advocate of the right to a quality education, one of his most noteworthy contributions has been his support of Palestinian university students; he has financed the university education of hundreds of Palestinians, as a means of investing in Palestine’s and the region’s human capital.

Mr. Shakhshir was one of the founding members of the Welfare Association; his insights and investments have contributed to the different phases of the Association’s development across the years. Mr. Shakhshir passed away on the 18th of May 2006; his sons, however, sustain his legacy of devotion to Palestine and to the Welfare Association. One of their most generous contributions has been the establishment of the Welfare Association Achievement Award, which we named after Mr. Shakhshir in honor of his invaluable contributions to Palestine and Palestinians.


Arab Information Center - Popular Arts "Al Jana" Lebanon

مُنح المركز جائزة الانجاز عن برنامج نشر الثقافة وبناء القدرات" وهو برنامج مُكون من مجموعة مشاريع تتمحور حول تنمية القدرات وتحفيز التشبيك ونشر الثقافة الفلسطينية بهدف ابراز جوانبها الايجابية وكذلك العمل على بناء جسور التواصل مع المجتمعات المضيفة والمجاورة من خلال تنظيم أنشطة فنية ثقافية مشتركة. ويهدف البرنامج إلى تعزيز التناغم والتفاعل وخلق الوعي من خلال بناء القدرات ومد جسور التواصل باستخدام المنابر الثقافية والفنية، تحفيزاً لإحداث تغيير مستدام لا سيما بين مجتمعات اللاجئين الفلسطينيين والمجتمعات الفلسطينية في لبنان.

لجنة تحكيم الجائزة 2016

السيدة ايمان الحموري، السيد خالد فراج، السيد عدنان طرابشة، السيد نبيل عناني، د. منى الخالدي


Sareyyet Ramallah

Sareyyet Ramallah promotes national commitment among Palestinian youth. They introduced the Contemporary Dance Festival, a unique initiative for integrating people with disabilities into society.

Mada al-Carmel

Mada generates diverse research and analyses on the social, economic and historic life of Palestinians in the 1948 areas.