The award is a memorial to Samir Fares, a former UAE resident of Lebanese origin who began the IAA-UAE chapter in 1979, the third in the region. Fares, who established his own advertising agency in Dubai in the late 1970s, became IAA world president elect at the Sydney World Congress in 1988, but died before his term in office began in 1990.
At the award ceremony on Wednesday evening, Tanvir Kanji, head of the IAA-UAE chapter, said, "Presenting the Samir Fares Award is indeed a great moment during the IAA World Congress. To honor his memory, the chapters of Lebanon and the UAE created an IAA Award to reward an individual who has demonstrated achievement on behalf of the IAA throughout his or her career and has given outstanding service in furthering the objectives of our Association."
The awardee, he added, is designated by both the Lebanon and UAE Chapters and ratified by the board of directors of the IAA.
Michael Lee, whose term as IAA chairman and world president ended this week with the handover to Dubai-based Joseph Ghossoub, said he was deeply honoured to receive the award, and dedicated his victory to the IAA volunteers who further all that is good in the industry.
Earlier in the evening, IAA chairman and world president Ghossoub presented the IAA Chapter Excellence Award - the Golden Tulip - to the Jordan chapter for the best overall contribution to the aims of the IAA in the last two years.
The 40th IAA World Congress and Exhibition is held in association with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Dubai Media City. Platinum sponsors the congress and exhibition include Gulf News, CNN, Dubai Television and Motivate Publishing, while gold sponsors are Dentsu and EMAAR. Silver sponsors include the Chouieri Group, MBC, BBC World and Al Ittihad, while Khaleej Times, Dubai Duty Free, AME Info, FedEx and Arab Media Group (AMG) and Al Wataniya have bronze sponsorship status.
During the course of the event, the IAA is playing host to 'Great Ads for a Better Future', an exhibition of public service advertising campaigns from around the world. The exhibition, which includes posters, print advertisements, TV spots and reports from companies, NGOs and international organisations, will be on display in the main concourse of the Dubai International Convention Centre and is open to the general public, free of charge.
The 40th IAA World Congress and Exhibition continues until Thursday 23 March, 2006.
