The Avesta Honor Award for 2026 will be presented to prominent Kurdish scholar Celîlê Celîl on November 26, during a ceremony and panel discussion in Diyarbakır.

The Avesta Cultural Foundation was established in 2026 and aims to present an annual “Honor Award” in the name of a historical Kurdish figure. The 2026 award is named after the Kurdish historian Sharafkhan Bidlisi.

The foundation’s Board of Directors decided to present the 2026 Avesta Honor Award to Celîl, who has worked in the field of Kurdology since the second half of the 20th century. He completed his higher education at universities in Yerevan and Leningrad and received his PhD in 1963 for a dissertation on Kurdish uprisings in the 19th century. From 1963 to 1993, he worked at the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

Together with his brother, Ordîxanê Celîl, he has conducted extensive research and documentation on Kurdish history, culture, and folklore. Since 1994, he has continued his work with colleagues at the Vienna Institute of Kurdology, which he helped establish.

The foundation said the award recognizes Celîl’s academic work and his contributions to the study and documentation of Kurdish history, culture, and folklore. It also described his work as part of efforts to preserve and pass on Kurdish cultural heritage to future generations.