Hanzala International Award
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What is the Hanzala International Award? The Hanzala International Award is a prestigious recognition for educational products that promote the culture of resistance. In other words, the Hanzala Award identifies, highlights, honors, and supports outstanding educational products aimed at children and adolescents that foster the values of resistance. This initiative aims to help expand the ecosystem of educational products that encourage a resistance culture. All individuals and organizations involved in education—including teachers, educators, educational content creators, producers of educational goods and services, and educational researchers—are eligible to participate.
www.hanzala.net
Who is Hanzala? Hanzala is a cartoon character created in 1969 by the martyred Palestinian artist Naji al-Ali, a refugee. The character symbolizes a child who was forced to leave Palestine at a young age. Al-Ali said that Hanzala would only grow up when he returns to his homeland. The barefoot 10-year-old boy is always depicted with his back turned to the viewer and hands clasped behind his back, silently witnessing the crimes of Zionists and the suffering of Palestinians. Through his simplicity, Hanzala conveys profound messages about Palestine’s plight and resistance, becoming a powerful cultural icon in the resistance narrative. For us, Hanzala is more than just a cultural or artistic symbol—it is a method of resistance. The creator of this character ultimately paid the price of this resistance with his life in 1987.
The Award By “award,” we mean the Hanzala Medal of Excellence, granted to creators of exceptional educational products. It includes a monetary priZE and a support package. The goal of choosing this award format is to concentrate attention on a single event and facilitate storytelling from the ideation phase to the final product. In its initial phase, the award focuses on identifying and honoring current products, as well as supporting the .development of new ones. We will later elaborate on how these goals will be achieved.
Format Categories of the Hanzala Award In line with the goals of the award and its current focus on educational products promoting the culture of resistance, the following categories have been selected: A. Written and Content-Based Products 1- Children’s and Adolescents’ Books 2- Activity-Based Packages (Including stories, poetry, picture books, educational materials, coloring books, and tactile books) 3- educational escape rooms 4- Educational Platforms and Systems B. Audio-Visual Products 1- Music and Anthems 2- Animation 3- Web Series D. Lifestyle Products 1- Stationery 2- Clothing 3- Decorative Items C. Game-Based Products 1- Toys 2- Board and Card Games 3- .Digital and Video Games