After the Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Cultural Foundation called on Arab poets worldwide to participate in the "Diwan Shuhada Al-Izza" competition, there has been a significant response from Arab poets to participate in this major cultural event.

In this regard, the poet Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Cultural Foundation, said, "I was confident that the conscience of Arab poets is alert, and this is something natural that we have always known from Arab poetry and poets. Our Arab poets have lived the issues of our nation with all their emotions and feelings. They rejoice in its achievements and magnificent victories, and their poems are imbued with the fragrance of triumph and pride in Arab identity. They also grieve when their nation is surrounded by disasters and calamities - and there are many of those that surround our Arab nation. You can see them immersed in their worries and sorrows, and in their poems, you find a fabric of pain and flowing tears. Their eyes, at such times, do not know the taste of sleep, and their souls do not find the path to rest and stability."

Therefore, a quick decision was made to increase the prize values as follows:

• The first-place poem will receive a prize of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

• The second-place poem will receive a prize of seven thousand dollars ($7,000).

• The third-place poem will receive a prize of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

Albabtain also added that all participating poems will be reviewed by a specialized technical judging committee.

Furthermore, Albabtain emphasized that the participating poems will be published in a collection, and the entire proceeds from it will be dedicated to humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip.

The Foundation has established a set of conditions for participation in the competition, including:

• Poems must be in Classical Arabic.

• The deadline for participation is November 30, 2023.

• Participants should send a brief bio along with their contact information by mail, phone, and email.

The Foundation emphasizes that the opportunity is still open for those who wish to submit poems that express the Arab national and humanitarian sentiments arising from the terrible atrocities against innocent children and civilians in Gaza, perpetrated without mercy or conscience.

The Foundation kindly requests participants to promptly submit their entries through the following means:

• Postal Address: P.O. Box 599, Safat, Postal Code 13006, Kuwait

• Fax: +965 22455039

• Email: info@albabtaincf.org

• Social Media Platforms of the Foundation