The selection of the recipients of King Faisal Prize 2021 has entered the final stages with specialized selection committees for each category of the prize set to meet in the coming days. According to the General Secretariat of King Faisal Prize, the meetings of selection committees for all five categories of the award — Islamic Studies, Arabic Language & Literature, Medicine, and Science — will begin on Feb. 6 and will continue for five days. On Feb. 10 (Wednesday ), Makkah Governor Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, who is the chairman of the King Faisal Prize Board, will preside over the committee meeting to select the laureates for the prize. The general secretariat had announced earlier the topics of the 43rd session of King Faisal Prize as follows: "Endowment in Islam" for the Islamic Studies prize, "The New Rhetoric" for the Arabic Language & Literature prize, "Regenerative Medicine in Neurological Conditions" for the Medicine Prize, and "Physics" for the Science Prize category. The general secretariat also pointed out that nominations for the prize are not accepted from individuals or political parties. The selection process is based on nominations made by scientific institutions, universities, research centers as well as scientific and language councils. The general secretariat stipulates that the nominated individual should be alive and that the nominated work should already be published; the nominated work should also be informative and enriches knowledge for the development of humanity. The selection committees include scholars and scientists from all over the world, who will examine the nominated works to select the laureates, in accordance with the rules and regulations developed by the General Secretariat of the prize. Each selection committee will consist of 10 members, who will be attending either in person or virtually, due to the current circumstances. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal will announce the names of the chosen laureates for the five categories of the award at a function to be held on Feb. 10 in Riyadh. — SG
