2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Award Winners Honored at Ceremony in Istanbul

 On Friday, 11 September, winners of the seventh annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards were presented with Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards during a majestic ceremony at the InterContinental Istanbul in Istanbul, Türkiye. More than 300 guests from 82 winning organizations around the MENA region and beyond attended the ceremony. Türkiye-based organizations recognized as winners in the Stevie Awards for Great Employers were also invited to attend the ceremony. 

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, sponsored by the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is the region’s only awards program open to all organizations in 18 nations in the Middle East and North Africa. The focus of the awards is recognizing workplace innovation in all its forms.

This year, more than 1,400 nominations were considered in the judging process by more than 155 professionals, whose average ratings determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners announced earlier in the year.

Grand Stevie Award Winners in the 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards

In addition to honoring Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners, two Grand Stevie Award winners were presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies at the 11 September ceremony. The winners of these Grand “best in show” Stevie Award trophies are Eastern Health Cluster (EHC) of Saudi Arabia and the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) of the United Arab Emirates.

Organization of the Year: With 84.5 award points, earned through nine Gold, 19 Silver, and 14 Bronze Stevie Award wins across various categories, Eastern Health Cluster (EHC) of Saudi Arabia is the most honored organization in this year’s competition.

Eastern Health Cluster is one of the largest integrated healthcare network operators in Saudi Arabia. It serves more than two million beneficiaries, making it a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 healthcare transformation. The cluster’s extensive medical service network spans the entire Eastern Province, operating 22 general and specialized hospitals, one medical city, and more than 120 primary healthcare centers.

With specialized centers of excellence in cardiology, oncology, neurosurgery, and organ transplantation, EHC’s network has an overall capacity exceeding 3,450 medical beds and a team of more than 4,500 doctors. EHC won Gold Stevie Awards in categories recognizing innovation in academic institution events, finance, human resources management, planning and practice, management in healthcare industries, thought leadership, and more.

Highest-Rated Nomination of the Year: With an average score from the judges of 9.66 out of a possible 10, the nomination submitted by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, received the highest individual average score in the 2026 competition.

The nomination, about the development of FAHR’s HR AI Agent, also won a Gold Stevie Award in the Award for Excellence in Innovation in Artificial Intelligence category.

FAHR is an independent federal entity responsible for managing and developing human capital within the United Arab Emirates federal government sector. Acting under the supervision of the UAE Council of Ministers, FAHR designs, reviews, and implements modern workforce policies, performance management programs, and civil service legislation across all federal ministries.

Maggie Miller, President of the Stevie Awards, commented that this year’s awards gala brought together more than 300 guests from around the MENA region and beyond. The award attendees included dignitaries, industry leaders, officials, company owners, chairmen, boards of directors of government and private organizations, and executive directors, all pleased to be honored on stage.

“We were delighted to celebrate the 2026 Grand Stevie Award winners. EHC and FAHR exemplify the outstanding caliber of nominations received for the 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards,” said Maggie Miller. “The judges were highly impressed by the Grand Stevie winners’ creativity, resourcefulness, and expertise in driving their organizations forward over the past two years.”

The ceremony brought together dignitaries, government officials, business leaders, business owners, executives, and professionals from across the region. Winners were recognized on stage for their achievements and had the opportunity to deliver acceptance speeches and participate in interviews.

The following organizations participated in the ceremony. Only winning organizations that attended the ceremony were recognized:

See the full list of 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Winners by category

View and download photos from the awards ceremony.

Individual Acceptance speeches and red-carpet interviews are available on the Stevie Awards YouTube channel.

About the 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards

The 2026 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 15 nations including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Türkiye and United Arab Emirates. More than 1,400 nominations in Arabic and English were evaluated in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of 155 professionals worldwide, acting as judges on five juries to recognize innovative apps, achievements, entire organizations, public relations, customer service, human resources, individual professionals, live and virtual events, management, sustainability, technology, thought leadership, and more.

The 8th edition of the MENA Stevie Awards will open for entries in 23 September 2026. Sign up here to request the 2026 entry kit when it becomes available.