Mohamed Abdul-Rahman Al-Sharekh, Kuwaiti businessman, President and Chairman of Sakhr Software Co., received the Outstanding Contribution to Arabization award in recognition of his efforts in leading the Arabic language into the age of technology, and in annealing technology to the needs of the Arabic language. The awards were announced at GITEX which this week celebrates its 25th year of pioneering leadership in the IT field in the Middle East.
The award recognized “The pioneering role Al- Sharekh personally played in pushing forward Arabic IT to keep up with the global era of progress.” The award also recognized “Al-Sharekh’s penetrating which started with the launch of the first Arabic computer, and continues today to build pioneering technologies and applications, fulfilling the needs of the Arabic language.”
The award, which was accepted by Mr. Fahd Al-Sharekh award on behalf of his father, was presented at a large ceremony sponsored by Etisalat and ITP, the regional publishing company, at which twenty five pioneers and innovators in the IT field throughout the Arab World were also honored for their achievements. Al-Sharekh was the only Arab personality to be honored in the field of IT.
“It is a great honor to receive this award, which also coincides with the approaching silver anniversary of Sakhr’s establishment,” commented Al-Sharekh. He added, “I would like to present this award to everyone who works at Sakhr for the past 25 years; researchers, developers, experts, all the staff and employees of Sakhr.”
“No one can ignore the role played by the “Sheikh of Arab Developers” for a quarter of a century; a role that has demanded penetrating vision and great courage in making difficult investment decisions,” commented Walid Akkawi, Publishing Manager, ITP. He continued, “We would like to express our pride at the role played by Al-Sharekh in developing the IT field in the Arab World. We would also like to express our gratitude and appreciation at his major contribution to this industry’s future growth and to his effective efforts in driving growth throughout the Arab region as a whole.”
“We are pleased that ITP has been given the chance to honor Mohammed Al-Sharekh for his many contributions; from the humane and the cultural, to technology, Mohammed Al-Sharekh was the natural, and very deserving, choice for the Outstanding Contribution to Arabization Award,” added Akkawi.
“Sakhr Software Co., the company that introduced the first Arab computer, the first Arabic technology, and the first to bridge the language gap between Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, is not on the verge of more major achievements and technological breakthroughs which will serve businesses, organizations and all Arab users,” commented Al-Sharekh in closing.
The list of winners also included numerous pioneering institutions, local and international businessmen and ministers, in addition to high-profile personalities such as Her Highness Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Economy and Planning, and Mrs. Nadia Al Saeed, Minister, Ministry of ICT, Jordan.
Photo:
Mohamed Abdul-Rahman Al-Sharekh, , President and Chairman of Sakhr Software Co.
About Sakhr:
Sakhr Software Company was founded in Kuwait in 1982, and was relocated in Cairo in 1990.
A leading Arabic software Co., Sakhr develops software specifically tailored to the needs of the Arabic market and Arabic language users. It has developed cutting-edge technologies that have had a strong impact on the Arabic IT industry. The company has also pioneered a new generation of Arabic Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies.
Sakhr opened a branch in the UAE in 2001, located at DIC (Dubai Internet City). Sakhr’s list of clients includes giants such as Intel, Oracle, L.G, Tejari.com, in addition to many other well established global & region companies, governments & ministries, and central banks.
