Two journalists from Qatar were among those who were recognized in the recent 2009 Pan Arab Intellectual Property Rights Media Awards held at Sheraton Doha on Friday. Mohammad Al Farah of Al Sharq newspaper and Bashar Abu Leil of Al Watan newspaper won Best News Article and Best Feature Article respectively. Established by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the leading global organisation that is the voice of the global commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace, the Award recognises media’s contributions to promoting a safe and legal digital society throughout the Arab World. It was supported by Qatar’s Ministry of Justice. The awards were given in five categories including ‘Best Opinion Piece,’ ‘Best Investigative Piece,’ ‘Best News Article,’ ‘Best Feature Article,’ and ‘Best Interview,’ with a winner and runner up for each. The awardees were: ‘Best News Article’- Mohammad Al Farah, Al Sharq newspaper, Qatar (winner), and Dana Halawi, Daily Star newspaper, Lebanon (runner-up); ‘Best Opinion Piece’- Fadi Al Halabi, Future TV (Tawasul), Lebanon(winner), and Samir Mahmoud, Shabab Maser newspaper, Egypt(runner-up); ‘Best Feature Article’ - Bashar Abu Leil, Al Watan newspaper, Qatar(winner), and Mohammad Ghazal, The Jordan Times, Jordan(runner-up); ‘Best Investigative Piece’ - Ayat Mohamad Said Al Fiki, ICT News newspaper, Egypt(winner), and Naushad K Cherrayil, Gulf News newspaper, UAE(runner-up); ‘Best Interview’ - Inas Ismail, Al Aalam Al Youm newspaper, Egypt (winner), and Mahmood Nasheet, Akhbar Al Khaleej Newspaper, Bahrain(runner-up). The event awarded the top broadcast (TV and radio), print (magazines and newspapers) and electronic (web portals) pieces on software piracy and intellectual property rights (IPR) in the Middle East for 2009. Qatar was chosen as the venue due to its progressive IT development policies and it is included among the best IT-enabled countries in the Middle East in the World Bank’s Knowledge Economy Index. The Qatar Ministry of Justice has been especially active in enforcing IPR laws throughout the country and is a staunch supporter of the BSA’s anti-piracy awareness campaigns. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=January2010&file=Local_News2010012653136.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar