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Waheed Samy Award for Excellence in Arabic Writing 2026

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  2. Arabic Language Instruction Programs and Courses
  3. Waheed Samy Award for Excellence in Arabic Writing
  4. Waheed Samy Award for Excellence in Arabic Writing 2026

The Waheed Samy family and friends and the American University in Cairo (AUC) are happy to announce the 2026 competition for The Waheed Samy Award for Excellence in Arabic Writing for advanced learners of Arabic.

The award is presented annually to a student of Arabic as a world language who has distinguished herself/himself in the area of writing. Competition for the award will be open to students in Arabic programs in the US and abroad. The finalist will receive $1,200 in recognition of their outstanding achievement in Arabic writing.

We invite all students of Arabic at the higher levels of proficiency to apply and we call upon teachers of Arabic worldwide to encourage their students to apply.

Requirements

  • Applicant must be enrolled in an Arabic language program in the 2025-2026 academic year.
  • Applicant must possess a minimum of advanced-mid to advanced-high proficiency on the ACTFL scale, or 2+ on the ILR scale or B2.2 to C1 on the Common European Framework scale.
  • Applicants need to submit two representative samples of their writing. Each sample needs to be between 750 and 1000 words. Essays in different genres of writing (narrative, expository, persuasive and others) are highly encouraged to demonstrate breadth of writing abilities. The two essays need to be submitted online along with the application form.
  • Applicants need to request a letter of endorsement from an Arabic teacher familiar with her/his writing. The teacher’s letter should discuss the applicant’s accomplishments in writing and the letter must be sent directly to the committee using the following email address: info.waheedsamyaward@aucegypt.edu.
  • Once the application is accepted and reviewed, the applicant will be contacted by the award committee to arrange for a sit-down writing activity in which they type a 700-word essay addressing the 2026 writing topic. The essay must be an individually composed piece by the applicant with no editorial support in any form (this includes dictionaries, online resources, AI, teachers and friends). The writing topic will be communicated to each of the successful applicants on the day of the sit-down writing activity.

How to Apply?

  • Students interested in participating should visit the Waheed Samy Award Website, where they can download the application form, complete it and submit it.
  • Students need to submit their two writing samples using the award website.
  • The teacher’s letter of endorsement must be sent directly by the teacher to info.waheedsamyaward@aucegypt.edu

Deadlines

  • The deadline for submitting applications and writing samples: April 14, 2026
  • Sit-down writing activity: Saturday, May 2, 2026

The award winner will be announced by end of May 2026.

Each participant will receive feedback from the members of the selection committee on the essay they submitted for the contest. 

For questions and inquiries, contact us at info.waheedsamyaward@aucegypt.edu.