More than 20,000 people nominated for an Abu Dhabi Award

ABU DHABI // More than 20,000 unsung heroes are in the running for the emirate's highest accolade - an Abu Dhabi Award.

Six weeks after voting began on April 21, nominations closed yesterday and organisers now face the task of whittling down the candidates to determine who best deserves to be honoured.

The exact number of nominations has yet to be determined but organisers estimate they received more than 20,000.

A late surge of people voted after being inspired by the Al Jazira footballer Matias Delgado, who made his own nomination last week.

After announcing through social media that he had put someone forward, the Argentinian's army of fans followed suit and suggested their own personal heroes.

Delgado said: "I came to Abu Dhabi as a stranger but I have made so many friends in my time here and have a great relationship with the city.

"When it came to nominating someone, I wanted to put forward someone who has made a difference to my family's life and so I picked the guy at the local supermarket, who has been a big help in me settling in.

"He made a big effort to find food from Argentina that would give us a taste of home and, although it was not his job, he did it because he wanted to help us settle.

"People like him deserve to be congratulated as they are often not."

This year's entries take the total number of nominations since the inaugural awards in 2005 to more than 200,000.

Residents of all ages and genders from across the emirate have been represented this year after an effort to shift the focus away from Abu Dhabi city - where 90 per cent of nominations for the previous awards came from - to Al Ain and the Western Region.

Many people received multiple nominations.

Since the seventh Abu Dhabi Awards launched this year, thousands of people have put forward potential candidates at nomination booths, drop-off points, by telephone, post, via a website, or by flagging down one of the fleet of specially branded cars.

After nominations are whittled down, a judging committee of Government officials will select the winners, who will be chosen based on their individual contributions to society and not on the number of votes they received.

The theme of this year's awards is "Goodness Knows No Limits", to show that everyone, regardless of age, gender or nationality, can win an award.

Established in 2005, the awards honour compassionate individuals or organisations who have selflessly volunteered their time, whether at home or abroad, to build and support the community of Abu Dhabi.

The winners' ceremony is planned for December and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, will present the winners with the gold statue now synonymous with the awards.

Ten people won an award in the inaugural year, with the same number being successful in 2006. Nine received an award in 2007, with eight in 2008 and 2009.

The awards went biennial and, in 2011, 10 selfless people were recognised for fostering goodwill in the community, including Al Sheikh Ahmed, a well-known judge who played an important role in the formation of Abu Dhabi's judicial system and who died in 1988.

Other winners that year were the late Canadian-born Alain Saint-Hilaire, who spent decades capturing and documenting the visual history of the emirate through his collection of photography and film before donating his works to Abu Dhabi; and Sultan Rashed Al Dhaheri, who devoted his life, time and money to supporting education in the emirate and beyond.

The number of awards to be handed out this year has not yet been determined.

Information on past recipients of an Abu Dhabi Award can be found at www.abudhabiawards.ae.

jbell@thenational.ae