His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented the 2008 Ibda’a Awards at a gala ceremony organised by Dubai Media City and sponsored by the Ziad Galadari Group and Galadari & Associates.

For the second consecutive year the Ziad Galadari Group and Galadari & Associates were headline sponsors for the prestigious award scheme that celebrates and rewards creative excellence in media. This year the Awards received more than 2,000 entries from 25 countries including new entrants representing Brazil, Poland, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

Ziad Abdulla Galadari, Chairman, Galadari & Associates and Ziad Galadari Group said:

“We share a common vision with Dubai Media City in discovering, showcasing and fostering young media talent, a reason that has primarily motivated us to participate as presenting sponsors of the Ibda’a Media Student awards for the second consecutive year. All the entries demonstrate ingenuity and innovation, which indicates the event has evolved into an effective platform for identifying and nurturing some of the world’s most promising talent.”

“The Galadari Group congratulates all participants and finalists in this year’s edition of the Ibda’a Media Student Awards. We are confident these young stars will eventually achieve their ambitious career aspirations.”

The story of the region is one of progress and growth and in order to facilitate that growth, the government and governmental owned corporations have required good partners. For many years the Ziad Galadari Group has worked closely with Dubai Media City, with the diversity of their portfolio allowing them to support TECOM and their objectives.

Dubai Media City is rapidly emerging as the region’s media hub, providing advance infrastructure for media-related businesses to operate globally out of Dubai. Since opening in 2001, Dubai Media City has grown to become a thriving media community of over 1200 companies and hundreds of freelance media professionals.

Rosanna Tolhurst, Head of Strategy and Business Development for Galadari & Associates and Ziad Galadari Group said:

“As a group we are committed to many initiatives that support the regions sustainable growth. For the last few years we have focused our support on Education and the development of Media and Journalism, and the Ibda’a Media Student Awards embraces both.”

“The importance of encouraging students in the early stages of their careers is crucial on so many levels which is why we endeavour to support the institutions and campaigns that promote and reward students at all stages of their education and learning. Also, as a law firm and a group of companies, with many international business interests, we are also conscious and concerned about the importance of media and how it portrays the region, it’s culture, it’s commerce to and its plans for the future, to the rest world.”

“We have an unswerving commitment to our regional responsibility and will continue through our initiatives to support the efforts of the government as it works toward creating a secure and sustainable location for residents, visitors and businesses.”