President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has today met with the members of the National Honours Committee and the National Awards Technical Committee, and requested the committees’ focus to be on women and youth, when finalising the areas and criteria for this year’s National Awards.
Speaking to the members, at the meeting held at the President’s Office this morning, the President noted the high priority given to empower women and youth, in his electoral manifesto. In this regard, the President highlighted the great scope of skills boasted by many Maldivian youth today, and noted the importance of conferring National Awards in a way that would recognise their exceptional talents.
The President also stated the need to expand the categories of the National Award for Special Achievement, to include those who show outstanding performance of a skill or innovation, to a standard recognized by the government.
The President further spoke of the importance of widely promoting the newly compiled guidelines of the National Awards.
President Yameen also highlighted the appointment of 5 additional members to the National Honours Committee. He said that the main objective was to give priority to the areas that targeted women and youth, when finalising this year’s criteria.
The 5 newly appointed members are, Ms. Aneesa Ahmed, Mr. Ibrahim Umar Manik, Mr. Ahmed Shahir, Mr. Umar Zahir, and Mr. Mohamed Ikram.
