Fifth Annual Awards Sponsored by RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry Recognize Innovation in 18 MENA Nations

Winners in the fifth annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout 18 nations in the Middle East and North Africa, have been announced. The awards are sponsored by the RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The list of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available here.

The 2024 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards have recognized winning organizations in 13 nations: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. More than 1,000 nominations in Arabic and English were evaluated in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide, acting as judges in more than 150 categories recognizing apps, achievements, companies, public relations, customer service, human resources, individuals, live and virtual events, management, social media, technology, thought leadership, and more.

Winners of multiple Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Awards include Abu Dhabi Sports Council, UAE; Acceligize, UAE; AXS - TECOM Group, UAE; Beyaz Kağıt San. ve Tic. A.Ş., Turkey; Big Data Minds MENA, Jordan; DHL Express, multiple locations across the region; Dhafra Region Municipality, UAE; General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, UAE; Glimpse, UAE; INFLOW Network, USA; KAFALAH, Saudi Arabia; Megamind IT Solutions, Saudi Arabia; Miral Destinations, UAE; Now Health International, UAE; Ooredoo Group, multiple locations across the region; Petromin Express, Saudi Arabia; Qatar Vision Production Company; QNB Finansbank, Turkey; RAK Ceramics, UAE; RAK Police, UAE; Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia; SOCAR Türkiye; Saudi Telecom Company, Saudi Arabia; The Captain Agency, Turkey; Ministry of Justice, UAE; The Others Brand Experience Agency, Turkey; VakifBank, Turkey; Visiontech Systems International LLC, UAE, and ZIGMA8 | 360º CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS, Iran.

“We are delighted to recognize the achievements of such a diverse group of organizations across the MENA region in the 2024 edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “We look forward to celebrating Stevie winners during our gala event on 2 March in Ras Al Khaimah. The quality of nominations received this year was exceptional. The program has grown every year, showing the vast amount of innovation in the MENA region.”

Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the Mövenpick Resort Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates on Saturday, 2 March. Tickets for the event are now on sale.

Entries for the 2025 (6th annual) Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards will open in September. Sign up now to get the entry kit once it becomes available.

About the Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

About the RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry

RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RAK Chamber) is the second chamber of commerce commissioned in the United Arab Emirates. Incorporated on 22 October 1967, RAK Chamber embraces a spirit of innovation and creativity, strong leadership, and initiative to support and develop business sectors to achieve excellence. With its focus on clients, investors, and businesses, the RAK Chamber of Commerce offers added value to businesses. Rak Chamber works to create and develop a system of sustainable enterprise relations and a business environment that encourages a culture of teamwork. By providing useful information, data, procedures, and laws for all concerned categories, Rak Chamber helps businesses achieve transparency and credibility. Rak Chamber strives to create a business-motivating environment to promote the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah as an economic hub in the United Arab Emirates. Learn more at www.RAKChamber.ae.

Stevie-winner Vodafone Oman was established through a strategic partnership between the Oman Future Telecommunication Company and Vodafone Group, one of the largest providers of mobile, fixed, broadband, and digital TV services.

Vodafone Group is a British multinational telecommunications company. With its registered office and global headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, England, it predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.

In 2021, the company obtained a Class I License to establish and operate public mobile telecommunications services in the Sultanate of Oman, becoming the third telecom operator in the local market.My Vodafone in Oman
The My Vodafone app has been downloaded by over 2 million people across Oman. Through the app, customers can onboard themselves virtually in less than two minutes, including plan and number selection, identity verification using advanced AI and facial recognition capabilities, payment, and eSIM (and physical SIM delivery or pick-up). They also enable customers to replace their SIMs remotely, providing SIM-to-eSIM replacement within seconds.

Vodafone offers a monthly subscription model wherein customers can enable the auto-payment feature so that the user's account is charged on the plan’s renewal date without any human intervention to ensure uninterrupted service. Customers are given the ability to set an amount to be withdrawn automatically once a minimum threshold is reached.

They have also developed a feature called "Everything Is Okay (EIO)" which allows customers to check their account against any technical, financial, and network issues. Customers are presented with an issue and a way to resolve it, covering payments and renewals, account status, network, and device and SIM management.

Existing customers can digitally add up to 10 numbers under their main account in less than a minute using My Vodafone, including number selection, plan selection, payment, and SIM activation.

App Improvement & Service Expansion
To localize an international brand, Vodafone had to bring on a team of agencies that brought local insights with technological prowess.

The Vodafone Academy was an integrative program between the different agencies and Vodafone Oman that aims to build a circular talent economy that nurtures young Omani talents. The program was centered around three key pillars of marketing: media, content/creative, and social media. The program spanned six months and ultimately awarded two graduates full-time placements at the end of the program.

With fewer resources and less time in the market, it leveraged its agencies’ local and international expertise to develop a team that deepened its relationship with not only its partners but also the wider Omani community.

The app has enabled Vodafone to collect a huge amount of data points, which helps them make constant improvements to both the services and customer service.

Vodafone’s AI-enabled networks automatically detect and even pre-empt problems and threats via data analysis and create tickets for dispatch to the network operation center, saving significant time for affected customers and enhancing their experience.

Telecom operators have previously focused on selling services, i.e., voice and data. The My Vodafone app aims to offer more than that, providing other services in line with the Government of Oman’s digital ambitions: parking booking within Muscat and Nizwa in collaboration with local partners, with notifications when a reservation is about to expire; and high school grades in collaboration the Sultanate’s Ministry of Education, when students enter their seat ID to receive their grade automatically.

Entering Oman as a digital-first service, Vodafone said the speed of transformation that the pandemic brought to the world was an enabler for a winning launch and a solid foundation for the brand.

Vodafone Oman won a Bronze Stevie and three Gold Stevie Awards for Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing, Most Innovative Startup of the Year in Services, Most Innovative Advertising or Marketing Team of the Year, and for Innovation in Brand Development in the 2023 Middle East & North Africa Stevie^® Awards.

Interested in entering the 2024 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards?

Stevie-winner Big Data Minds MENA is a community platform that aims to close learning gaps and create networks for knowledge sharing in the domain of big data and other related emerging technology.

The platform can be used with big data, data engineering, data science, data management, digital transformation, industry 4.0, internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) training programs to disseminate more knowledge and training to the MENA region. They have launched several technological initiatives in Jordan and the MENA region to empower women and children.

Big Data Minds MENA was founded in 2020 by Dr. Zaher Al-Sai as a community-based organization of big data and data science in the Middle East. Dr. Zaher Ali Al-Sai has a BS degree in computer science and an MBA (Hons.) in e-government Technology. She completed her PhD in Computer Science in the field of Big Data and Software Engineering. She is currently an assistant professor of Big Data at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan.

As a female-founded organization, Big Data Minds MENA has shifted the direction of the IT organizations in Jordan to empower women in data science, AI, and emerging technologies. Big Data Minds’ first initiative was empowering women in data science by founding the Arabian Women in Data Science initiative in the MENA region and organizing many events and workshops in data science and AI, which has impacted over 5,000 women. The company volunteers to teach and empower more than 50,000 of community members, including women, teenagers, children, and students, in technology and data science.

In 2021 and 2022 Big Data Minds MENA organized the largest virtual women in data science (WiDS) Jordan workshops and data-thons in the Middle East with more than 800 attendees. WiDS Jordan is an independent event organized by Big Data Minds and the WiDS Ambassador in Jordan to coincide with the annual Women in Data Science Worldwide Conference held at Stanford University and an estimated 150+ locations worldwide.

Expanding their reach, Big Data Minds MENA is now also teaching children (8-16) years through the launch of "Kids in Data Science and AI" initiative," or "KiDS,” to empower and teach children the skills of data science and AI, including skills related to problem-solving, math, and computer coding. KiDS provides various activities for children in public schools and villages.

Big Data Minds is a visionary community that continuously seeks innovation to maintain its initiatives as a community-based organization in technology and data science. Big Data Minds is inspiring and educating community members worldwide, regardless of gender, and supporting women in the field of data science.

Big Data Minds MENA won three Gold Stevie Awards for Innovation in Technology Development - Non-Profit; for Best Thought Leadership Campaign of the Year; and for Best Innovative Achievement in Science or Technology in the 2023 Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards.

Interested in entering the 2024 Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards?

The region’s only awards to recognize innovation in all its forms in the workplace in 18 nations is now accepting nominations through December 6.

By popular demand, the Stevie Awards have announced a final entry deadline extension for the fifth annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards sponsored by the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce. Entries will now be accepted through Wednesday, December 6 (the original final entry deadline was November 7.) Details are available at http://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards are the region’s only awards to recognize innovation in all its forms throughout the workplace. The awards are open to all organizations in 18 nations in the MENA region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

All individuals & organizations may submit any number of nominations to any number of the categories.

There are no entry fees in this awards program. Organizations may submit as many nominations as they would like, without cost. Instead, Gold, Silver, & Bronze Stevie Award winners will pay a “winners fee” for each successful nomination.

Winners of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards in the competition will be announced on January 18, 2024, and celebrated during a gala event in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE on March 2.

The 2024 competition features new categories to better recognize innovation and excellence in the workplace. The new Individual Professional Award Categories recognize individuals who have demonstrated exceptional innovation and forward-thinking qualities within their organization or industry.

Other new categories include Innovative Achievement in Sustainability (added to the Achievement Categories), Most Innovative Contact Center of the Year and Most Innovative Customer Service Department / Team of the Year (added to the Customer Service Categories), and Award for Most Innovative HR Department / Team of the Year has been added to the Human Resources Categories.

Nominations citing innovative achievements will be accepted and judged in both Arabic and English, in more than 100 categories across the following category groups:

• Apps & Websites
• Achievements
• Annual Reports & Other Publications
• Company/Organization
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations
• Customer Service
• Human Resources
• Individual Professionals
• Live & Virtual Events
• Management
• Marketing
• New Products & Services
• Social Media
• Technology
• Videos
• Thought Leadership

Winners of the 2023 edition with multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards include Bagcılar Municipality, Turkey; Department of Health Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; DHL Express, Several Nations; Etihad Rail, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; INFLOW Network, Qatar; Integrated Transport Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Karaca Zuccaciye A.S., Istanbul, Turkey; Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; and ZIGMA8 | 360º CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS, Tehran, Iran, among others.

The 2024 competition will be judged by more than 150 professionals in the MENA region and around the world.

Interested in submitting nominations before the

December 6 final deadline?

Fourth Annual Awards Sponsored by RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry Recognize Innovation in 18 MENA Nations

Winners in the fourth annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout 18 nations in the Middle East and North Africa, have been announced.  The awards are sponsored by RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The list of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available at http://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The 2023 Middle East Stevie & North Africa Awards have recognized organizations in 14 nations including Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. More than 800 Nominations in Arabic and English were evaluated in this year’s competition and winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide, acting as judges in more than 150 categories recognizing achievements, apps, companies, public relations, COVID-19 response, customer service, human resources, live and virtual events, management, social media, technology, Thought Management and more.

Winners of multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards include Bagcılar Municipality, Turkey; Department of Health Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; DHL Express, Several Nations; Etihad Rail, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; INFLOW Network, Qatar; Integrated Transport Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Karaca Zuccaciye A.S., Istanbul, Turkey; Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), Dubai, UAE; Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; and ZIGMA8 | 360º CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS, Tehran, Iran, among others.

“We are delighted to recognize the achievements of such a diverse group of organizations across the MENA region in the 2023 edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller.  “We look forward to celebrating Stevie winners during our gala event on 18 March in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The quality of nominations received this year was exceptional. The program has grown every year, showing the vast amount of innovation in the MENA region.”

Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah Hotel in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, 18 March. Tickets for the event are now on sale.

We invite business professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and more from
around the world to apply to judge in the following 2023 Stevie® Awards programs: Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, German Stevie® Awards.

Being selected or nominated to become a jury committee member is an honorable and
distinctive position. It not only reflects one’s expertise in a certain profession, but also reflects that this person has high ethical standards and is well-recognized and trusted within their business community. Qualified applicants will be placed on judging committees for Marketing, Entrepreneurship, New Products, Technology, Thought Leadership, and much more.

Each year, more than 1,000 professionals participate in Stevie Awards judging. The average scores from judges determine the winners in each Stevie Awards category. As this is a critical component of the Stevie Awards competitions, we take great care to maintain the integrity of the judging process. The judging team ensures that jury members are experts and professionals in their industry and conducts regular monitoring and auditing of the entire process. The judging team is available to guide new judges, and hosts meetings to explain proper judging protocols.

Benefits for Stevie Awards Judges
As a judge, you will learn how other organizations and individuals are achieving success and confronting challenges. Below are the exclusive benefits of being a judge at the Stevie Awards:

• Recognition - During the judging process, jury members are recognized on the Stevie
  Awards website, Stevie Awards blog, and receive a hardcopy and PDF judge certificate suitable for framing.
  
• Profile - Qualifying as a judge is an honor and a privilege. The mention of serving in this role can be added to your professional profile.
  
• Self-Development & Awareness - Judges learn about strategies, tactics, and best practices of others in the industry as their review entries, giving them a unique opportunity to spot new market trends as they happen.
• Award Ceremony - All jury members are welcome to attend the award ceremony, which takes place at the end of each competition. Enjoy a spectacular night socializing and networking with award winners and other judges.
• Invitations to Judge Future Competitions

Before You Apply to Judge
Judging positions are open for the following Stevie Awards competitions. Those interested in serving as a judge should follow the below links for more information on each respective competition:

• The Middle-East & North Africa Stevie Awards
• The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards
• The German Stevie Awards

Prospective judges should make sure their LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and that it reflects your most current experience and demonstrates a competitive edge.

Judging  Criteria
Individual criteria differ by category, but the emphasis is on the overall quality of the entry: the merits of the claims to innovation, integrity, effectiveness, creativity, growth, etc. claimed in the entry, relative to the judges' experience and their knowledge of the participant's industry, as well as the quality of the entry's content itself.

Judges tend to value well-written entries that: (1) are heavy in facts, figures, and concrete outcomes; (2) come close to the word-limit for their categories (i.e. that aren't perceived as being too short); and (3) are supported by attachments, such as a links to a corporate website, press clippings, work samples, etc.

We recommend that prospective judges request an entry kit to the competition for which you want to judge, so that you can familiarize yourself with the criteria and submission requirements.

Gold Stevie-winning nominations are linked on the Stevie Awards website. This is a good tool for prospective judges to learn what a top-rated Stevie nomination looks like.

Judging Process
All entries are first reviewed by Stevie Awards staff to ensure that eligibility requirements are met, that entries are formatted properly in order to go forward to be judged, and that entries have been submitted in appropriate categories.

All judges receive written instructions about how to score entries. Judges are asked to score the achievements portrayed in each entry based on: (a) their own experience; and (b) their understanding of how organizations and individuals in the nominee's industry performed in the eligibility timeframe, given the condition of the economy in general and the nominee's industry in particular. 

For entries in creative media categories, judges are asked to read the brief submitted about the entry’s communications objectives, and to review and score the submitted media (web site, video, live event, etc.) based on their originality, creativity, production values, and how well they believe the media meet the stated communications objectives.

All judging is done online, within a two-to-three-month window. Judging for the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is open now.

The region’s only awards to recognize innovation in all its forms through the workplace in 18 Countries is now Accepting Entries through January 17.

By popular demand, the Stevie Awards have announced a general entry deadline extension for Middle East & North Africa Stevie ® Awards sponsored by RAK Chamber, UAE. Entries will now be accepted through January 17. (The original final deadline was November 9.) Details are available at http://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The Middle East Stevie & North Africa Awards are the region’s only awards to recognize innovation in all its forms through the workplace. The awards are open to all organizations in 18 nations in the MENA region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran (newly eligible for 2023), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE & Yemen.

All individuals & organizations may submit any number of nominations to any number of the categories.

There are no entry fees in this awards program. Organizations may submit as many nominations as they would like, without cost. Instead, Gold, Silver, & Bronze Stevie Award winners will pay a “winners fee” for each successful nomination.

Winners of the Gold, Silver, & Bronze Stevie Awards in the competition will be announced on Jan 25, 2023, & celebrated during a gala event in RAK, UAE on March 18.

The 2023 competition features new categories. The Thought Leadership categories will recognize innovation in thought leadership strategy, development, & executive. Innovative Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility & Innovative Achievement in Diversity & Inclusion have been added to the Achievement categories.

Nominations citing innovative achievements will be accepted & judged in both Arabic & English in more than 100 categories across the following category groups:

• Apps & Websites
• Achievements
• Annual Reports & Other Publications
• Company/Organization
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations
• COVID-19 Response
• Customer Service
• Human Resources
• Live & Virtual Events
• Management
• Marketing
• New Products & Services
• Social Media
• Technology
• Videos
• Thought Leadership

Winners of the 2022 edition of the awards included Bahrain Tender Board, DHL Worldwide Express LLC, Emirates Health Services, Eon Dental Jordan, Hilton Supply Management Cairo, HOPE Consortium Abu Dhabi, Inkript Beirut, Omantel, Ooredoo Algeria & Qatar, VakifBank Turkey & Zakat Customs Authority Saudi Arabia and many more.

The 2023 competition will be judged by more than 150 professionals around the world.

Interested in submitting nominations before the January 17 final deadline?

Mahmoud Mansi is the Founder of HR Revolution Middle East Magazine – the media partner for the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards. As a professional, Mahmoud has worked in management consulting, auditing, education, training and development, project management, community development and sustainability, arts and culture, event management, business journalism, and media management.

Mahmoud is a global public speaker. He has traveled and spoken at conferences in Nigeria, Sudan, India, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. He has spoken eight times at TEDx, in addition to speaking at global human resources conferences such as SHRM TECH, ATD Middle East & HRSE.

He is the author of “Sustaining a 360° Agile Workplace: A Millennial Perspective” in addition to eight other books in entrepreneurship, social sciences, literature, gender, and culture dialogue.

As an activist, Mahmoud Mansi has won several awards such as the “Sea of Words Literary Award 2010” from the Anna Lindh Foundation in Spain, the “Culture Shift Award 2013” from Egypt’s British Council, and the “Brand Ambassador Award 2018” from His Excellency Dr. Rashid Al Leem, Alleem Knowledge Center in UAE.

Besides participating as a Stevie Awards judge, Mahmoud Mansi has been acting as a brand ambassador to encourage more organizations and professionals to join the Stevie Awards either as nominees or jury members. He has published more than 30 articles in HR Revolution Middle East Magazine, in addition to being featured in Dostor Newspaper in Egypt, received an honorable mention at the university he works at; The Arab Academy, for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, and was interviewed on Egypt’s National T.V. speaking about the award, judging process and sharing case studies from award-winning entries.

Connect with Mahmoud Mansi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahmoud-mansi-hr-philosopher-014b0a121/?originalSubdomain=ae

The Stevie Awards asked Mahmoud a few questions about his judging experience:

The Stevie Awards: Mahmoud, as someone who has various experiences in judging, what makes The Stevie® Awards distinctive?

Mahmoud Mansi: I believe the Stevie® Awards is simply a pioneer for various reasons and I am enthusiastic to share in-depth details.

1-Geographic & Demographic Outreach: The Stevie® Awards embraces, promotes, and welcomes diversity, business innovation, and excellence with a wide range of geographic and demographic outreach through its various awards: Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, German Stevie® Awards, The American Business Awards®, International Business Awards®, Stevie® Awards for Great Employers, Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and Stevie® Awards for Women in Business.

2-Diversity in Categories: The Stevie® Awards has a group of specialized categories for corporate, NGOs, governments, start-ups, and individuals, which encourages all different market segments to apply in what they think is their competitive advantage from products and projects to best practices in management. Also, the categories are annually updated according to new trends and market development.

3-Easy Entry Access: Interested individuals fill out the “Request an Entry Kit” form from the website, and will receive an email which contains all details regarding the categories, eligibility, and entry process. Also, unlike most trending awards, there is no entry fee to the Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards which encourages the business community in all its sectors to participate.

4-Great Customer Support & Guidance: There is a Stevie® Awards professional team dedicated to guiding nominees towards applying in the category that best suits their points of strength and this team provides support throughout the process if needed.

5-Accurate Judging Process: Nominees should feel secure as they are in good hands. The Stevie® Awards assure that the jury members are experts and professionals in their industry, in addition to having the judging process monitored and audited to assure quality and resilience. Another important point is that nominees can attach extra files to their main submission to emphasize on their application with further evidence and supporting documents.

The Stevie Awards: You have been judging the Stevie® Awards for three years now in a row, why do you find interesting in the experience?

Mahmoud Mansi: With each round, I feel enthusiasm and passion for discovering something new. I am always curious about the evolution of humanity and it is well reflected in innovation contests and awards. It is like reading the news to know what’s new in the business, only that these news updates are explicit to the Stevie® Awards Jury. Although each judge can review a minimum of 20 entries I always enjoy challenging myself to go the extra mile. I am looking forward to participating as a jury member in the upcoming years and discovering what further the evolution of humanity would bring to us.

The Stevie Awards: Why is it important for organizations to apply for business awards?

Mahmoud Mansi: Innovative organizations deserve to be well-recognized. It is the right of its customers and employees to know that their provider or their employer is unique in the market. However, contests and awards provide other advantages besides recognition and branding, such as healthy competition, benchmarking, promoting innovation and teamwork within the organization, and receiving constructive feedback from the judges who are experts in the industry in order to develop further.

The Stevie Awards: Can you share with us some tips for those who want to enter the Stevie Awards?

Mahmoud Mansi: I believe organizations and individuals need to consider several points as they apply for the Stevie® Awards. As a judge, I have noticed that sometimes there is a gap between innovative ideas and well-written proposals. Some entries are exceptionally innovative but are not well written and well presented, and other entries might have less innovative ideas however they are well organized and neat. As jury members, we focus on both. Indeed the Stevie® Awards promote innovation, yet as professionals and experts, we need to witness how this innovation has turned into a tangible outcome.

Here are some points that have to be considered when preparing for the award: innovative initiative, clear business case and objectives, impact on community and stakeholders, teamwork and engagement throughout the project implementation, change management, proposal writing style, project timeline, and efficiency, the return on investments, and the journey itself preferably documented with testimonials, pictures, and videos. Another important angle to consider throughout the proposal is the usage and reliability of data analytics tools including statistics, illustrations, and ratios in revealing results, in addition to having the proposal reviewed and edited by all relevant project leaders and stakeholders before submitting the final version to the Stevie Awards.

The Stevie Awards: What are the benefits of being a judge, and how do you apply to become one?

Mahmoud Mansi: Being selected or nominated to become a jury committee member is an honorable and distinctive position. It does not only reflect one’s expertise in a certain profession, but it also reflects that this person has high ethical standards and is well-recognized and trusted among his/her community.

Here are some benefits of being a judge at the Stevie® Awards:-

• Self-Development & Awareness; learning about best practices in the industry and learning the new market trends and direction.
• Recognition; during the judging process, the jury members get recognized on the Stevie® Awards website and by receiving a hardcopy judge certificate.
• Profile; judging is a unique experience and it is added to one’s professional profile as an achievement.
• Award Ceremony; all jury members are welcomed to attend the award ceremony, enjoy a spectacular night, socialize with award winners and other judges, and see the outcome of their work.
• Win the Judges’ Lottery! $500 is randomly offered to two judges, from all those who score 30+ entries, plus two additional prizes of $1,000 to two judges, from all those who rate at least 60 nominations. The prizes change from year to year and between Stevie Awards competitions.
• Receiving invitations for future judging opportunities.

For those who are having plans to judge at the Stevie® Awards, the following link has the details: https://stevieawards.com/you-be-judge , and make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated and it reflects your experience and competitive edge. Writing and publishing some articles on your profile is recommended.

The Stevie Awards: How can you develop yourself in order to remain a competent judge?

Mahmoud Mansi: I always try to become a competent judge by keeping pace with the new market trends and best practices by continuously working on consulting projects, reading books from iconic figures in the industry, watching TED Talks, getting enrolled in certification programs and workshops, attending conferences, in addition to reading opinion articles in blogs, interviews with industry leaders and academic papers. Besides working on developing my knowledge and experience, a judge is also an auditor, project manager, and business coach.

The Stevie Awards: What would you like to say to those who are not shortlisted or selected as award winners?

Mahmoud Mansi: Every organization that seeks development and works towards providing better services and quality products to its customers and smarter management systems to its employees, with a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach, is indeed a winner in the eyes of all its stakeholders. the Stevie® Awards will either grant an organization the chance to be recognized or provide tips that support the organization to further develop, and these are actually two different types of awards; recognition and development!

Another point to keep in mind is that many organizations can win the award title “today”, but true winners are the agile organizations that are able to sustain their initiatives and assure that they remain impactful on the business, employees, customers and the community.

The Stevie® Awards have announced the Grand Stevie Award winners in the third annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards. Grand Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah Hotel in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, 21 May.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, sponsored by the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, is an international business awards competition open to all organizations in 17 nations in the Middle East and North Africa. The focus of the awards is recognizing innovation in all its forms.

This year more than 700 nominations were considered in the judging process by more than 100 professionals, whose average ratings determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners announced earlier in March. For a complete list of the 2022 Stevie Award winners, visit https://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

In addition to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards, the top winner overall (total number of points conferred by total gold, silver, and bronze Stevie wins) and the highest-scoring nominations are awarded the Grand Stevie Awards, which cannot be applied for directly.

The two Grand Stevie Award winners are:

ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR: VakifBank, Istanbul, Turkey: VakifBank earned 34.5 award points for the bank’s innovative achievements in remote customer service, human resources, annual reports, videos, social media, and more. The organization won nine Gold and five Bronze Stevie Awards in the 2022 competition.

HIGHEST-RATED NOMINATION OF THE YEAR: “The HOPE Consortium World Immunisation & Logistics Summit 21” event, in a nomination submitted by the HOPE Consortium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, received the highest average score from Stevie Awards judges (9.4 out of 10) in this year’s competition. The nomination won the Gold Stevie for Innovation in Government Events. The HOPE Consortium is one of the largest and most integrated logistical efforts of its kind to deliver hope and vital vaccines to the global community, formed by a collective of industry-leading local partners.

“We are thrilled to announce the 2022 Grand Stevie Award winners. VakifBank and HOPE Consortium have shown their commitment to innovation and to making the world a better place,” said Maggie Miller, President of the Stevie Awards.

Complete information about the 21 May awards banquet in Ras Al Khaimah is available at https://stevieawards.com/mena/tickets

If you, as a representative of the press, are interested in participating in the award ceremony of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards on 21 May in Ras al Khaimah, UAE, please contact us at help+MENA@stevieawards.com.

The fourth edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards will open for entries in September 2022.

For more information about Stevie Awards other programs; please visit www.StevieAwards.com

Winners in the third annual Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout 17 nations in the Middle East and North Africa, were announced today.  The awards are sponsored by RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The list of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available at http://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The 2022 Middle East Stevie & North Africa Awards have recognized organizations in 10 nations including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. More than 700 Nominations in Arabic and English were evaluated in this year’s competition and winners were determined by the average scores of more than 100 professionals worldwide, acting as judges in more than 150 categories recognizing achievements, apps, companies, public relations, COVID-19 response, customer service, human resources, live and virtual events, management, social media, technology, and more.

Winners of multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards include Abu Dhabi Residents Office (ADRO), United Arab Emirates; Emirates Health Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Farah Experiences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Juffali Automotive Company, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Maqta Gateway® LLC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Ooredoo, several nations; Passion Point LLC, Cairo, Egypt; Sodexo, Istanbul, Turkey; The Cabinet, Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), Cairo, Egypt; and The General Administration of Customs, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, among others.

Stevie winners will be presented with their awards at a gala banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah Hotel in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, 21 May. Tickets for the event are now on sale.

“We are delighted to recognize the achievements of such a diverse group of organizations across the MENA region in the 2022 edition of the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Miller. “We look forward to celebrating Stevie winners during our gala event on 21 May at the gala in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.”