3:47 This wraps up our live coverage of the 2015 State Awards. Thanks for staying with us, and make sure to check Ahram Online for all the latest in arts and culture news, events, and updates.
3:45 El-Nabawy thanks the Secretary General of the SCC for great efforts during his tenure, thus confirming unofficial reports the minister does not plan to renew Afifi's contract.
3:44 Minister of Culture Abdel-Wahed El-Nabawy congratulates the winners of the 2015 State Awards.
3:33 Renowned Egyptian novelist Gamal El-Ghitany wins the 2015 Nile Award in Literature.
3:30 Renowned Egyptian actress Samiha Ayoub wins Nile Award in Arts.
3:15 The Nile Award was originally named the Mubarak Award, but the name was changed in the aftermath of 25 January 2011 revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak from power.
3:14 The SCC grants three Nile Awards for three winners carrying a cash prize of LE400,000 each, plus a golden medal.
3:13 Vote on the Nile Awards, the highest state honor, will start shortly.
2:30 This wraps up Appreciation Awards, as we go to a break now, before officials return to vote on the prestegious Nile Awards.
2:17 Appreciation Awards in the field of Human Sciences carry a cash prize of LE200,000 for each winner plus a golden medal.
2:29 Human Sciences Appreciation Awards goes to geohraphy professor Fathy Abu Ayana, education expert and Ain Shams University professor Mohamed Sakran, Ali Barakat and Sameeh Shaalan dean of the high institute of theater.
2:14 The voting process at today's ceremony has been proceeding faster than in previouis years due to the application of digital voting devices.
2:09 Three Appreciation Awards in Literature go to renowned poet Hassan Teleb, novelist Ahmed Elsheikh and novelist Fawzia Mahran. The awards come with a cash prize of LE200,000 for each winner plus a golden medal.
1:58 Artist Nagui Shaker Antoun and violinist Hassan Shararra win the other two Appreciation Awards in the field of Arts.
1:53 Renowned film director Said Marzouk wins Appreciation Award in the field of Arts.
1:40 The Social Sciences Award, which includes two prizes, went to Mahabat Mahmoud Hafez, the philosophy professor at Helwan University; the second award was withheld.
1:24 The Excellency Award carries a cash prize of LE100,000 for each winner, plus a silver medal.
1:30 The Excellency Award in Arts goes to the renowned musician Hani Shenouda and plastic artist Hussein El-Ezaby.
1:22 The Excellency Award in Literature goes to Abdel-Nasser Hassan, the former CEO of the Egyptian Library and Archives Institute, and Bahig Ismail, the famous play writer.
1:48 State Awards for Excellency are announced.
1:10 The voting was secret under the rule of president Hosni Mubarak, but former culture minister Emad Abu-Ghazi in 2011 opened deliberations to the public in order to promote transparency. The awards ceremonies were aired in 2011, 2012, and 2013, 2014.
1:05 Voting has been reaired to journalists again. No results have been announced yet.
12:17 Minutes after the vote started the TV circle that was prepared to air the voting process to journalists in a separate room went off by orders from the minister of culutre, Abdel-Wahed El-Nabawy.
12:15 Voting on the state Awards has started, and Journalists asked to leave the voting room, and moved to a conference room where the vote will be broadcasted to them through a television circle.
12:10 Members of the SCC approved the digitial voting.
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12:05 Some members of the SCC have not been trained to use the voting devices. Committees are debating whether they should use the devices or return to the manual way.
11:56 This year voting will be digitalised, for the first time in the history of the State Awards.
11:50 Members of Egypt's Supreme Council for Culture (SCC), headed by Minister of Culture Abdel Wahed El-Nabawy, and SCC Secretary General Mohammed Afifi, have started the annual meeting to vote on the State Awards
11:46 Ahram Online is providing live coverage of the announcement of the 52st edition of Egypt's State Awards in the fields of art, literature, and social sciences.
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Fact box:
52 prizes worth LE7 million total (around $1 million), divided into four sections:
— 32 Encouragement Awards of LE50,000 each
— 7 Excellency Awards of LE100,000, plus a silver medal
— 10 Appreciation Awards of LE200,000, plus a golden medal
— 3 Nile Awards of LE400,000, plus a golden medal
The 32 Encouragement Awards are divided as follows: eight for the arts, eight for literature, eight in the social sciences, and eight for law and economic research.
Of the seven Excellency Awards, two are for the arts, two for literature and three for the social sciences. Political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan and economy expert Ahmed El-Naggar were among the winners of the prize last year.
The vote also includes 10 Appreciation Awards: three for the arts, three for literature and four for the social sciences. This award was granted for the first time in 1999. Novelists Khairy Shalaby, Gamal El-Ghitani, poet Mohammed Afifi Mattar, and critic Gaber Asfour are among past winners.
The three Nile Awards are divided as follows: one for the arts, one for literature and one for the social sciences. The Nile Award was originally named the Mubarak Award, but was changed in the aftermath of 25 January 2011 revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak from power.
Poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi, writers Bahaa Taher, Ibrahim Aslan and Waheed Hamed, and cinema director Youssef Chahine are the most prominent figures to date who have won the Nile Award.
The State Awards were launched in 1958 and have only been cancelled once, in 1967, during the Six Days War between Egypt and Israel.