Dubai Media City announces Ibda'a Awards shortlist

Representing the finest media student talent in the region and beyond, the shortlisted entries come from eight countries. India tops the list with 13 finalists, followed by eight from the UAE, six students from Iran and South Africa, three students from Egypt, three from the UK and the USA, and one from Canada.

The Judging Committee of the awards had high words of praise for the exceptional quality of entries, which they said exhibited considerable imagination and maturity in both ideas and content.

The shortlist includes five entries each from the categories of TV Documentary, Digital Photography, Analogue Photography, Graphic Design and TV Advertising and four entries each from Radio, Journalism, Film, Print Advertising and Animation.

Abdulhamid Juma, CEO of Dubai Media City said, "The astonishing talent displayed in the shortlisted entries gives us the confidence that the future of our media industry is in good hands. The whole experience of unearthing this talent has been enriching for us here in Dubai Media City. With the new Ibda'a Awards this year, we hope to inspire even greater aspiration and excellence among media students around the world."

The finalists were selected from a total of 2013 entries received this year, a marked increase from the 1819 entries received in 2003. This increase in the number of participants reflects the increasing profile of the Ibda'a Awards in the region and around the world. Abdulhamid attributed the bigger response this year to the massive campaign of roadshows conducted by the Ibda'a team.

Shortlisted media students from outside the UAE have been invited to Dubai to join the UAE finalists for an exhibition of their entries at DMC from November 28 - 30. The final round of judging will take place during the exhibition. A judging panel of eminent media experts will select one winner for each of the 10 categories of the Award. The winners will be honoured at a gala ceremony to be held on November 30th at Dubai Media City.

Ibda'a 2004 is sponsored by: ARN, BBC, Dubai Press Club, FedEx, Khaleej Times, Motivate Publishing, Network Productions, Seven Stars, Showtime and Virgin. The event is also supported by the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).