Publishing Lifetime Achievement Awards presented

The MEPC Lifetime Achievement Award for Newspaper Publisher was made posthumously to the late Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf (1952-99) the founder, editor and publisher of the Yemen Times who was also a human-rights activist.

MEPC Lifetime Achievement Award for Magazine Publisher went to Ghanima Fahd Al Marzouq, publisher of Usrati weekly, Kuwait, and one of the pioneer publishers in Kuwait and the Gulf region.

MEPC Lifetime Award for Online Publisher was granted to Aljazeera.net, the first mainstream Arabic news site that has become one of the 50 most visited sites worldwide.

Finalists were chosen by a selection committee comprising representatives of the three co-organisers of the Middle East Publishing Conference - the International Federation of Periodical Publishers (FIPP), the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), and Dubai Consultancy Research & Media Centre (DCRMC).

Donald Kummerfeld, chief executive of FIPP, said the awards recognise the diversity of regional media and the outstanding contributions made by individuals and groups.

"We have been involved in adjudicating similar awards in different parts of the world and it was quite clear to us that the standard of nominees was very high indeed - as good as any we have encountered anywhere," he added.

Timothy Balding, chief executive of WAN, commented: "With so many worthy candidates, the decision was from simple, but we believe the recognition bestowed by the awards is a true reflection of genuine lifetime achievement as indicated by the titles."

Posthumous winner in the newspaper category, the late Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf (1952-99), was founder, editor and publisher of the Yemen Times. He was also a human-rights activist, a leading economist (a professor at Sana's University) and a journalist vigorous in pursuing press freedom. He died in a traffic accident at the age of 46.

The Yemen Times was the nation's first and most widely-read English-language independent newspaper. Established in 1990 the newspaper was awarded the National Press Club's International Award for Freedom of the Press for 1995. In the newspaper's mission statement, Al-Saqqaf wrote: "We use the Yemen Times to make Yemen a good world citizen."

The newspaper has a reputation for aggressive information gathering. It actively supports press freedom, respect for human rights, political pluralism and democracy.
It promotes non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other forms of civil society organizations.

The Freedom of the Press award resulted from Al-Saqqaf's courage in contradicting official government reports that northern troops opened fire first in the civil war that began in May, 1994. As result of his work, he was imprisoned and beaten.

Magazine category winner Ghanima Fahd Al Marzouq, publisher of Usrati weekly, Kuwait, is one of the pioneer publishers in Kuwait and the Gulf region. She gave Kuwaiti women a voice at a time when women had very few freedoms. She has made significant contributions to the advancement of women, socially and culturally. She was also a successful publisher in the business sense. Usrati magazine has become one of the top family magazines in the Gulf region.

In a history of publishing in Kuwait, she is referred to as:

"Illustrious names of Kuwaitis who were successful in the field of publishing and magazine publishing started to appear, including Ghanima Al Marzouq who ventured into writing with her real name, followed by others. Her name first appeared as the editor-in-chief of Ajial magazine which was a youth and family magazine. Ajial was first published on April 15, 1967. It became a weekly newspaper on December 13, 1969, focusing on political, social, cultural and sports news. In February 1964, Ms. Al Marzouq published Usrati magazine which went on to achieve wide success."

Online winner Aljazeera.net (Arabic) was launched in January 2001 as the first mainstream Arabic news site and in a short time gained widespread popularity. A year later the Al Jazeera site attracted more than 811 million impressions and 161 million visits. In dealing with controversial topics, offering straight news reporting and providing opportunities for interactive feedback, the site has become one of the 50 most visited worldwide.

Since being established, the site has undergone constant expansion and enhancements. Abdul Aziz Al Mahmoudi became manager of the site shortly after it was launched and has overseen a number of changes such as developing an integrated network of Al Jazeera websites under the headings of: news, knowledge, channel, and business.

The news site offers comprehensive coverage of world affairs and developments. The knowledge site offers in-depth views of the news through analysis and research. Channel shows the Al Jazeera channel's latest developments and keeps a record of what it produces in a database that is available to the audience. Business is an electronic marketing tool selling web services and the channel's various productions.