The Special Awards Committee has opened nominations for the "President’s Award for Special Achievement".

Nominations for the President’s Award for Special Achievement was opened on Sunday.

The President's Office disclosed that the details of the award criteria is published in the Government Gazette.

The office also disclosed that the nomination forms for the award are made available online. As such, nominations can be made through the "form hushahelhun" portal on the President's Office's website.

The deadline for form submission in 22 September, 2022.

President’s Award for Special Achievement, is an award that is awarded annually. These are awarded to individuals whose skills and performance are seen as a source of national pride. Additionally, these are also awarded to individuals who have made substantial contributions to national progress.

The first category of President’s Award for Special Achievement is dedicated to individuals who have attained significant achievements in higher education and training; certification equivalent to Maldives Qualification Authority (MQA) rank 10 with an exceptional result; and certification equivalent to MQA levels 7-9 at the highest rank. The award in this category would also recognize those achieving the highest honors at the respective higher education institutions.

The second category is dedicated to individuals who have excelled at or achieved the highest rank in an international competition or exhibition.

The third is dedicated to innovative and enterprising individuals who have presented practical resolutions or outstanding solutions by conducting academic research on critical national challenges.

The fourth category would see awards given to talented youth who were remarkably creative and innovative in their field of expertise and were acknowledged to have had a positive effect on national progress. Individuals must be between 18 and 35 to be eligible for this category.

This year's awards would feature a new category to coincide with the 50th-anniversary celebrations of tourism in the Maldives. This was introduced by the President is to recognize the outstanding, creative, and innovative contributions of tourism sector stakeholders and staff towards developing the industry and the nation.

With this, President’s Award for Special Achievement would a total of five categories this year.

Recipients of this year’s "President’s Award for Special Achievement" would be presented at the official reception to mark Republic Day.