The Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards (DIAFA) is an annual awards show held in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, UAE. It honors distinguished International and Arab personalities in recognition of their annual achievements and contribution towards committees and society betterment. The first edition of DIAFA was held in 2017.

Winners

The winners' professions and countries of origin are selected by ''diafa.org''.

2017

The 1st edition of DIAFA was held in January 2017. *Abdul Hamid Juma - DIFF, *Ali Al Khawar - Poet, * Elissa - Singer, *

Majid Al Mohandis Majid Abd al-Amir Adir al-Attabi (; born 25 October 1971), better known as Majid Al Mohandis (), is an Iraqi Saudi singer and composer. His success in the Arab world has earned him the titles of "the Engineer of the Arabic song" () and "Voice ...

- Singer, *Fadia Al Taweel - Journalist, *Abed Fahed - Actor, *

Latifa Latifa, Lateefa or Lateefah is a feminine Arabic (لٓطِيفٓة) given name which means "gentle", "nice" or "pleasant". It corresponds to the masculine Latif. Notable persons Lateefa(h) * Lateefa Al Gaood, Bahraini politician * Lateefah Dur ...

- Singer, * Youssra - Actress, *

Khaled Youssef Khaled Youssef (; born 28 September 1964) is an Egyptian director and film writer. His films are noted for their use of improvisation and a realistic cinéma vérité style. In a career spanning more than three decades, Youssef's films have encom ...

- Director, *Mohamed Saeed Harib - Director, *

Nurgül Yeşilçay Nurgül Yeşilçay (born 26 March 1976) is a Turkish actress. Biography Nurgül Yeşilçay was born in Afyonkarahisar in 1976. She studied drama at the State Conservatoire of Anadolu University in Eskişehir. Since her graduation, she has perfor ...

- Actress, *Rima Njeim - Presenter, *Habib Ghloom - Actor, *

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

- Artichect, * Khaled - Singer,

2018

The 2nd edition of DIAFA was held in January 2018. *

Wael Kfoury Michel Émile Kfoury (; born 14 September 1974), known by his stage name Wael Kfoury (), is a Lebanese singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. Career Wael studied solfège at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. Commercial deals Kfoury signed ...

– Singer, *

Elçin Sangu Elçin Sangu (born 13 August 1985) is a Turkish actress and model. With her appearance in television ads and campaigns, she has become one of the highest-paid celebrities in Turkey. Sangu is best known for her leading role Defne in the Star T ...

– Actress, * Hayat Al-Fahad – Actress, *

Bassel Khaiat Bassel Khaiat (Arabic: باسل خياط, born 29 August 1977) is a Syrian actor, working in theatre, television, and film. Early life Khaiat was born in Damascus, Syria, and has a brother named Mohammed. Khaiat started acting at eight years ol ...

– Actor, *

B. R. Shetty Dr Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, (born 1 August 1942) commonly known as B.R. Shetty, is an Indian-born businessman and former billionaire, the founder and acquirer of a number of companies based in the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi� ...

– Businessman, *Omar Kamal – Singer, *

Dorra Zarrouk Dorra Ibrahim Zarrouk (; born 13 January 1980) is a Tunisian actress living in Egypt. Early life Dorra was born in Tunis, her father was Ibrahim Zarrouk and her maternal grandfather, Ali Zouaoui, was an economist and politician. Dorra had a B ...

– Actress, *

Irina Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova (; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and a former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, among others, two terms as a member of the Nation ...

– Former director general of UNESCO, *Arina Domski – Opera singer, * Mattar Bin Lahej – Sculptor, * Fayez Al Saeed – Singer and composer, *

Turki Aldakhil Turki bin Abdullah Aldakhil (born 2 July 1973) is a Saudi Arabia, Saudi diplomat and journalist, and the current Saudi ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya Television News Network in Dubai, the ...

– journalist, *Waleed Nassif – Director, * Raha Moharrak – Sportwoman, *ABU – Star of the Year – Singer,

2019

The 3rd edition of DIAFA was held in February 2019. *Dareen Barbar and Arz Zahreddine – Athletes, * Ali F. Mostafa – Director, *

Samira Said Samira Abdelrazak Bensaïd (; born 10 January 1958), professionally known as Samira Said (), is a Moroccan-Egyptian singer who has lived in Egypt for more than 40 years and is known for her Egyptian Arabic genre. She represented Morocco in the E ...

– Singer, *SABREEN – Actress, *

Sirusho Siranush Hrachyayi Harutyunyan (; born 7 January 1987), known professionally as Sirusho (), is an Armenian singer and songwriter. She received her first award when she was nine years old for her song "Lusabats". Sirusho's first studio album, ''Si ...

– Singer, *

Engin Altan Düzyatan Engin Altan Düzyatan (; born 26 July 1979) is a Turkish film and television actor. Born in Karşıyaka, İzmir Province, Turkey, Düzyatan studied theatre at the Dokuz Eylül University in his home province before making his acting debut with '' ...

– Actor, * Haifa Hussein – Actress, *Medhat El Adl – Actor, writer and poet, *

RedOne Nadir Khayat (, Latn, ar, Nādir Ḵayyāṭ; born 9 April 1972), also known as RedOne, is a Moroccan-Swedish record producer, record executive, singer and songwriter. He has worked in production for high-profile recording artists including La ...

– Singer and composer, *

Cyrine Abdelnour Cyrine Abdelnour (; also spelled Cyrine Abd Al-Nour or Cyrine Abdel-Nour; born 21 February 1977) is a Lebanese singer, actress, and model. Her first album, ''Leila Min Layali'', was released in 2004. She released her second album, ''Aleik Ayoun ...

– Actress, *

Saber Rebaï Saber Rebai (, ''Saber al Ruba'i''; born 13 March 1967) is a Tunisian singer, actor, and composer. He is known for his song " Sidi Mansour". Some albums carry the variant transliteration Saber el Rebaii. He is one of the most well-known artists ...

– Singer, *

Mahira Khan Mahira Hafeez Khan (; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani film and television actress. One of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of Pakistan, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mahira Khan, several ac ...

– Actress, *Haya Abdulsalam – Actress, * Ayman Zeidan – Actor, *

Nelly Karim Nelly Karim (; born 18 December 1974) is an Egyptian actress and singer, model, and former ballerina. Early Life Nelly Karim is the daughter of a Soviet Russian mother from Leningrad and an Egyptian father from Zagazig. Born in Alexandria, E ...

– Actress, *Mike Angelo – Singer and actor, *Wafa Bin Khalifa – Humanitarian, *Huda Riyami – Painter,

2020

The 4th edition of DIAFA was held in November 2020 during COVID-19 while respecting all the safety measurements and resulting in zero infections among all the attendees. *UNHCR - UN entity, *Sheikha Alyaziya Bint Nahyan Al Nahyan - Director, * Mustafa Agha - Journalist, *Song Yinxi - Director, *Abdul Mohsen Al Nemr - Actor, *Diana Haddad - Singer, *

- Singer, *

Maxim Khalil Maxim Hani Khalil (; born on 7 November 1978 in Homs) is a Syrian actor. Career After he finished high school, he began as ballet dancer. In 1998, he worked as an assistant director for two years and was at this stage performing small roles. S ...

- Actor, *Amjad Abu Ala - Director, *Laila Aziz - Fashion designer, *Yara- Singer, *Sajal Ahad Mir - Actress, *

Mohamed Ramadan (actor and singer) Mohamed Ramadan (; born in Giza, 23 May 1988) is an Egyptian actor, singer, rapper, dancer and producer. Career Acting Mohamed Ramadan began acting during school. He has received the award for greatest nationwide talent three times consecutive ...

- Actor, *Ammar Omar - Businessman, *

Michele Morrone Michele Morrone (; born 3 October 1990) is an Italian actor and singer. He gained international recognition after portraying the lead role in the 2020 erotic thriller '' 365 Days'' and its sequels, '' 365 Days: This Day'' and '' The Next 365 Da ...

- Actor & Singer, *Elseed - Street artist, *Mansoor Elfeeli - Actor, *Fatma Al Hachemi - Singer, *Mustapha Al Abdallah - Singer, *Saudi German Hospital - Medical sector, *

Gims Gandhi Alimasi Djuna (born 6 May 1986), known professionally as Maître Gims and more recently just Gims (stylized in all caps), is a Congolese singer, rapper, producer, and songwriter. He grew up in France and currently lives in France and Moro ...

- Singer, *Iveta Mukuchian - Singer,

2021

The 5th edition of DIAFA was held on November 28, 2021, kicking off the celebration of the UAE's 50th anniversary. *H.E. Dr. Mohamed Saeed Al Kindi - UAE Former Minister of Environment and Water, *Radwa El Sherbiny - Journalist, *

Neslihan Atagül Neslihan Atagül (born 20 August 1992) is a Turkish people, Turkish actress. She is best known for her role in ''Endless Love (2015 TV series), Kara Sevda'' (2015–2017), a series sold to more than 110 countries and the first Turkish TV series ...

- Actress, *Nahla Al Fahad - Director, *Magda Zaki - Actor, *

Nawal El Zoghbi Nawal El Zoghbi (, also spelled Nawal Al Zoghbi; born 29 June 1972) is a Lebanese singer and actress. She is called the Golden Star, She achieved popularity first by singing traditional Arabic music with a pop sensibility, and also embracing ...

- Singer, *

Angham Angham Mohamed Ali Suleiman ( ; born 19 January 1972), known by the mononym Angham (), is an Egyptian singer, recording artist, and actress. Her debut was in 1987 under the guidance of her father, Mohammad Suleiman. Following her divorce from ...

- Singer, * Saif Nabeel - Singer, *Yasser Al Qahtani - Athlete, *Khalid Al Razooqi - UAE Police Officer, *Iyad Al Rimawi- Musician, *Laila Eloui - Actress, *

Lojain Omran Lojain Omran (born 26 October 1977) is a Saudi Arabian television presenter and social media personality. She presented a show on a channel in Bahrain and was a cast member on the Netflix original reality television show, '' Dubai Bling'' (2022). ...

- Journalist, *Jamila Saadouni - Businesswoman, *

Melhem Zein Melhem Zein (; born 21 October 1982) is a Lebanese singer. Career When he was 16, Melhem Hussein Zein first participated in an Amateur Singing Program called ''Kaas Al Nojoum'' (The Cup of the Stars) on the Lebanese LBC Channel for singing ...

- Singer, *Dr. Parween Habib - Journalist & Author, *Elham El Fadhalah - Actor, *Antonio Signorini - Sculptor,

2022

* Mohammed Sheikh Suliman - Businessman,

References

External links

* {{official website, https://diafa.org/ Awards established in 2017 2017 establishments in the United Arab Emirates