Frequently asked questions

AEA Awards is the MENA region’s benchmark recognition programme for Learning & Development. It honours outstanding individuals, teams, and programmes across categories spanning strategy, learning experience, digital transformation, and organizational impact.

Corporate L&D teams, HR transformation leaders, government workforce initiatives, EdTech and learning-technology providers, and individual L&D professionals across the region. Each category lists its own eligibility guidance.

Any organisation or programme with measurable L&D impact in MENA — including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, and the wider Middle East and North Africa. Global firms may enter when the nominated work served learners in the region.

Programmes should have been deployed or delivered results within the last 24 months, unless you are applying for Lifetime Achievement in L&D .

No. There are no fees to enter and no fees to win. Submitting a nomination is free. Digital recognition — the announcement, credentials, and use of winner marks — is included. Physical trophies and awards are optional; if you choose to order one, a fulfilment fee may apply.

No, not automatically. Digital recognition is free. Physical trophies, plaques, and similar awards are optional. Ordering one is never required to be named a winner, and a fulfilment fee may apply if you do.

No. You do not need to be a member of AEA or any other body to nominate or to win.

Nominations open on 20 October 2026. Until then, register your interest — we will email you when entries open. Use the submission playbook to pick one category, lock one headline metric, and assemble an evidence pack before you write. When live, you complete a six-step wizard with autosave. The closing date will be announced later.

Most teams complete the six-step wizard in one to three working sessions. Autosave lets you pause and return — nothing is lost if you need finance or HR input mid-way.

Yes. Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged across every category.

Yes. Use “Recommend an organization” on the interest form to suggest a programme or employer that deserves recognition. We will invite them when nominations open — this is not a full third-party entry.

Providers may help a client prepare evidence, but the entrant should be the organisation whose learners and business results are being judged. You must have permission to share the client’s data.

Start with the outcome you can prove — strategy, leadership, learning experience, technology, or people impact — then match the closest category on the Award Categories page. The submission playbook walks this in one sitting.

Organizations may enter multiple categories if each submission describes a distinct programme with its own evidence.

Yes. Evidence packs may be submitted in Arabic, English, or both. Judges evaluate substance and measurable impact — bilingual quality is part of regional credibility.

A dated baseline before your programme, the intervention you ran, the population affected, and the delta you can defend to a CFO or board — not completion rates alone.

No. Optional media can illustrate your story, but scoring is driven by written evidence and metrics. A video cannot rescue a narrative with no baseline or outcome data.

AI may help you draft, but every claim in your entry must be accurate and evidence-backed. Judges score verified outcomes — generic AI prose without data will not pass.

Drafts autosave in your portal while nominations are open. After you submit, email support@aeamena.com if you need a correction before judging begins.

Yes during judging. Entries are shared only with the assigned, conflict-checked panel. Winners are announced publicly; commercially sensitive metrics are not published without your approval.

Each category has a dedicated, conflict-checked panel of judges who score entries against published criteria. Judging is confidential and independent of sponsorship status.

Senior learning, HR, workforce, and academic practitioners can apply on the judge application page. The team reviews each application. An invitation includes a briefing and access to the judge portal. Applying does not reserve a seat, and judges recuse themselves from any related entry.

No. Judging is blind to sponsorship status. Judges recuse themselves from any entry tied to their employer, client, or vendor relationships.

Yes — categories such as Innovation in Learning Technologies and Digital Learning Transformation Achievement are designed for platforms, LMS providers, and learning-tech partnerships.

Yes. Nationalisation, public-sector academies, and government L&D initiatives across MENA are eligible in relevant categories.

Yes. Each cycle is independent. Returning programmes should show new evidence from the current 24-month window — not recycle a previous citation.

Nominations open on 20 October 2026. The closing date will be published on this site before the window ends. Judging follows the close. Winners are named in a live online announcement.

Winners are named live online across AEA digital channels — website, email, and social media. Subscribe or follow our updates to see results when they are published.

Regional recognition, a documented judging brief explaining why your programme stood out, digital credentials, and credibility you can cite to boards and investors — at no charge. Physical trophies are optional and may carry a fulfilment fee if you order one.

Enter the code printed on the credential at the verification page . Public credentials have a dedicated page you can share.

See the Sponsors page or email sponsorship@aeamena.com . Partnership never changes a judging score — sponsors are recused from any related entry.

The Resources library holds executive insights, research reports, practical articles, news, playbooks, events, a bilingual glossary, and a regional pulse.

AEA Awards is headquartered in Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, UAE, and serves organisations across the Middle East and North Africa.