Sultan Bin Tahnoon Receives Prestigious ’Rome Award’
His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has been honoured with the ‘Rome Award – Lupa Capitolina’ – the most prestigious accolade of the City of Rome, given to those working to reaffirm the universal values of culture.
The award was presented to Sheikh Sultan at a prestigious ceremony at Emirates Palace by the Honourable Davide Bordoni, Rome’s Deputy Mayor for Productive Activities, Employment and Coastline.
The presentation was part of the opening ceremony of the 14th edition of the ‘Premio Roma’ international literary prize, which is held yearly in a capital city judged to have considerable cultural significance. The award is viewed as a significant occasion to reaffirm the universal values of culture in bringing together different people and traditions and ensuring their social and civil development takes place in an atmosphere of tolerance, dialogue and mutual respect.
Deputy Mayor Bordoni said the award to Sheikh Sultan is aimed at emphasising Italy’s commitment to the development of Abu Dhabi’s cultural ambitions, including activities on Saadiyat Island, where a dedicated Cultural District will be home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The Deputy Mayor said the award also underlined the friendship and co-operation between Rome and Abu Dhabi.
Accepting the award, Sheikh Sultan said the honour was a vote of confidence in the UAE capital and demonstrates the growing links between Italy and Abu Dhabi, which have strengthened with the recent signing of a cultural agreement between Italy and the UAE.
“I am very grateful for Italy’s commitment to co-operating with us to develop our cultural landscape within Abu Dhabi, which is totally in line with our vision of the emirate becoming a cultural crossroads for all and a place which will inspire cultural dialogue between nations and people.
“This vision is being made possible by the solid support we receive from Their Highnesses Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. I take this opportunity to thank them for their ongoing commitment.
“The Rome Award is special because it embodies the spirit of one of the world’s most respected cities of culture and, as such, it commands a level of respect all of its own.”
The Italian Ambassador to the UAE HE Giorgio Starace said that “The Rome Award represents a concrete basis for the strengthening of the cultural, economic and political relationship between our countries. According to UNESCO Italy has 47 World Heritage sites as a mark of the cultural and geographic richness of the nation. That is more than any other country and represents around 5% of the World Heritage list. Thus we will think that the co-operation between our countries in fields like culture and tourism entails a huge potential and can lead to astonishing achievements for both Italian and Emirati sides”.
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Date: Jan 9, 2013
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