Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, will host a gathering Sunday at his office to announce winners of the Souq Okaz Prizes; the event will be broadcast live on the Al-Thaqafa Channel. The Souq Okaz Prize will present 515 works that have been judged by 36 experts. People from 11 countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Yemen and Pakistan – have participated in the eight contests, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learned. The Secretariat of Souq Okaz said this year's addition of the Prize for Creativity and Scientific Distinctiveness brings the number of Souq Okaz prizes to eight, with a total value of SR1.2 million. Awards include the Okaz Poet Prize, Okaz Youth Poet Prize and the Arabic Calligraphy Prize. Winners will be honored on Sept. 21, during a ceremony to launch the Souq. Prince Khaled is also scheduled to chair a meeting for the Supreme Supervisory Committee for Souq Okaz, which will provide its members with information about the final arrangements for carrying out the Souq's programs. The Committee includes Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Minister of Education; Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities; Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Mohieddin Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information; Dr. Khaled Bin Muhammad Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education; and Dr. Saad Muhammad Bin Mariq, Secretary of the Supreme Supervisory Committee. The Souq Okaz Prizes are supervised by the Cultural Committee, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the SCTA, Ministry of Higher Education and Taif Governorate. The Cultural Committee includes the Supervisor of the Okaz Souq Prizes; the President of Taif University, who serves as chairman; the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information for Cultural Affairs; the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education Affairs; the Deputy President of the SCTA for Antiquities Affairs; a representative of the Ministry of Higher Education; the Secretary of Souq Okaz; and four people concerned with culture. __
