Al Burda Award, organized by the Ministry of Culture, has postponed its 2020 edition due to the impact of COVID-19. The 16^thedition open call will be launched in January 2021.

The Ministry of Culture launched the Al Burda Award in AH 1425 / 2004 AD to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Now in its sixteenth edition, it positions itself as a global platform that adopts the diversity of Islamic culture and its aesthetic practices. The award recognizes creativity and excellence in the practice of traditional Islamic disciplines and pays tribute to the complexity of the Arabic language through receiving original submissions from poets, calligraphers and artists whose work is inspired by the Prophet Mohammed, the Holy Quran and hadiths.  As of 2018, over 300 winners have been awarded in recognition of their distinguished work.

The Al Burda Award aims to:

• Celebrate Islamic arts as a gateway to cultural communication with the world and as part of global heritage.
• Highlight values and principles of tolerance through celebrating the aesthetics of Islamic arts.
• Strengthen innovation and creativity through motivating emerging talents in their practice of traditional Islamic arts.
• Represent the Islamic world through the participation of creatives in the fields of poetry, calligraphy and ornamentation.
• Reflect the cultural and intellectual diversity of the Islamic world through traditional Islamic art disciplines.