Dec. 28--KUWAIT -- The Association of Indian Professionals-Kuwait (AIP) in collaboration with the Kuwait Times, successfully organized an 'Award Nite' on Friday. The ceremony was held to honor Class XII and Class X Indian students at the Indian Community School in Salmiya. Students, parents, principals from various Indian schools attended the event.

For the first time since the organization was founded in 1993, the Kuwait Times, in honor of its late founder Yousuf Alyan, distributed cash awards worth KD 1000 each to Class XII top winners. Coral Winona Pais (Carmel School) and Ajay Abraham (United Indian School) bagged this year's Yousuf Alyan Memorial Awards.

Apart from the cash prizes, they were also presented with gold medals and merit awards from AIP and the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, along with other meritorious students. They were selected by the AIP committee after reviewing the CBSE 2007-2008 exam results including both science and commerce streams.

Abd Al-Rahman Alyan, Kuwait Times Editor in Chief, presented the cash awards (in the form of cheques) to the recipients in the presence of Indian Embassy Charge de Affairs Dinesh Bhatia and Dr. CG Suresh, AIP Chairman. Following its 15-year year tradition, the AIP also distributed awards to achievers in individual academic subjects like Hindi, French, Mathematics and Social Studies. Abd Al-Rahman Alyan thanked the AIP for allowing the late Yousuf Alyan Memorial Awards to be constituted.

Your hospitality is greatly appreciated," he mentioned. He noted that the education his father received in Europe has fuelled the success of Kuwait Times and the Gulf media in general. "He strongly believed in promoting education and that he also believed that education provides a better solution to an individual life and that without it we are going to fail," the young Alyan reminisced his father's deep conviction in the field of education.

So what's the best way to remember the man's achievement and contributions? Yousuf Alyan Memorial Awards -- we created this award on his name. Congratulate the two students who won the award and I also convey the same to the school they represent," he added.

Alyan narrated his father's success in the field of journalism and why he decided to publish an English newspaper in an Arabic- speaking country. "My father greatly believed that the pen is mightier than the sword. He believes that publishing in English could enrich not just the local communities but also the international fraternity. He used it as a tool to establish international ties.

Dr.