Zayed Sustainability Prize 2023 announces 30 finalists

The Zayed Sustainability Prize has confirmed a total of 30 finalists for the 10 awards across five categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water and Global High.

This year, the awards received a record 4,538 applications, a 13% increase over the previous cycle, while attracting submissions from 152 countries.

The UAE’s groundbreaking global award for sustainability excellence has held a jury meeting to select the winners for the current 2023 cycle, who will be presented at the Awards Ceremony at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2023 in January this year announced.

Jury

A jury comprising former heads of state, UAE government ministers and international business figures met in Abu Dhabi in October to review the shortlisted proposals, as determined by the award’s selection committee.

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said of the finalists: “The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan instilled in the UAE a passion for inclusive sustainable development. commitment to humanitarian development, the Zayed Sustainability Prize continues to honor his legacy by translating this commitment into action. Over the past 14 years, the Prize has accelerated the deployment of practical and sustainable solutions, These solutions have positively changed the lives of more than 370 million people.”

“The Zayed Sustainability Prize has played an important role in supporting the UAE’s vision to drive inclusive climate action. The award will continue to expand the UAE’s track record in supporting sustainable innovation globally and move towards contributing to global development progress in the direction of entity and school empowerment,” he added.

Many of this year’s finalists propose sustainable solutions to environmental problems, while also empowering local community members by unlocking their entrepreneurial potential. Many of these solutions leverage next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive impact.

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, chairman of the jury and former President of the Republic of Iceland, added: “The variety of innovations showcased in this year’s applications, including inspiring projects conceived by young people, reflect the The award continues to inspire the world’s ability to pioneer sustainability pioneers, providing them with a unique platform to drive transformational change.”

“Health” Category Finalist

Health finalists focus on providing specialty medical services to remote communities.

• Associação Expedicionários da Saúde (Brazil), a non-profit organization that provides specialized medical and surgical care to indigenous communities geographically isolated from the Amazon through its mobile hospital complex.

• The Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (Germany), a non-profit organization, has developed the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System, an open-source digital platform for early detection of disease outbreaks and management of epidemic control.

• Ory Laboratory (Japan), an SME developing robot OriHime, designed for people with disabilities to reduce social isolation and provide them with opportunities to work and socially connect.

“Food” Finalist

Food finalists focus on transforming small farmers into entrepreneurs who increase agricultural productivity through innovative business models or advanced technologies.

• Nuru International (USA), a non-profit organization that helps African farmers transition from subsistence farming to farmer-owned and farmer-led cooperative agribusinesses, aligns their capacity development activities with existing efforts by government agencies and adapts them to local conditions.

• Sanergy (Kenya), a small and medium-sized enterprise, is addressing the problems of high agricultural input prices, insufficient supply and declining soil fertility faced by farmers in sub-Saharan Africa by manufacturing organic fertilizers and insect protein from various waste streams.

•Ynsect (France), a small and medium-sized enterprise producing insect protein and natural insect fertilizers, owns the first insect factory of its kind in Europe equipped with innovative vertical farming and integrated biorefinery.

Finalist in the Energy category

Energy finalists focus on bringing clean energy to underserved communities while introducing new business models that promote a gender-inclusive clean energy sector and create socioeconomic opportunity.

• Green Girls (Cameroon), a non-profit organization, uses a patented algorithm to identify areas where women and girls could benefit from energy access, and then deploys decentralized solar photovoltaic and biogas systems in identified areas for lighting and clean cooking.

• NeuroTech (Jordan), an SME developing AI-based algorithms and blockchain-based transaction systems to provide a reliable energy supply to refugee camps.

• Solarkiosk Solutions GmbH (Germany), an SME developing “E-HUBB” and connected solar market center “THE PULSE”, to provide local farmers and micro-enterprises with renewable energy for production.

The finalists in the ‘Water’ category are:

Water finalists focus on affordable solutions to make last-mile communities more accessible to safe drinking water and sanitation.

• HELIOZ – WADI (Australia), an SME deploying a solar powered device that notifies people when water is safe to drink – a way to reduce CO2 emissions and indoor air pollution.

• LEDARS (Bangladesh), a non-profit organization integrating water resource management models to address water scarcity in disaster-prone areas where water is unavailable due to salinity and flooding.

• Seisui Industries Inc (Japan), an SME developing a mobile sewage treatment plant that can be customized as needed and deployed when and where it is needed.

Regional Finalists

The global high school finalists showcased project-based, student-led sustainable development solutions, and the finalists were divided into 6 regions.

Americas: Nuestra Señora del Carmen Rural Integrated Ethnic Education Center (Colombia), Maria Sanchez de Thompson Tertiary Technical School (Argentina) and Fundacion Bios Terrae – ICAM Ubate (Colombia).

Europe and Central Asia: ES Kreativno pero (Serbia), Northfleet Technology College (UK) and Romain-Rolland Gymnasium (Germany).

Middle East and North Africa: School for Gifted Students (Iraq), JSS Private School (UAE), and Obour STEM School (Egypt).

Sub-Saharan Africa: Cheshire High School (Nigeria), Mount Mary Secondary School (Kenya) and UWC East Africa – Arusha Campus (Tanzania).

south asia

South Asia: Dhaka Boarding Model Academy (Bangladesh), Kopila Valley School (Nepal) and Obhizatrik School (Bangladesh).

East Asia and the Pacific: Bohol Wisdom School (Philippines), Kamil Muslim College (Fiji), and Sangam Sadhu Kuppuswamy Memorial College (Fiji).

In the health, food, energy and water categories, each winner will receive $600,000. The Global High School category has six winners, representing six regions of the world, who will each receive up to $100,000 in prize money. Since its inception in 2008, the $3 million prize has directly or indirectly changed the lives of more than 370 million people in 150 countries. Today, the award remains a catalyst for addressing the world’s most pressing issues as it continues to drive and create long-term impact in communities around the world.

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The Zayed Sustainability Prize is the UAE’s groundbreaking global award in the field of sustainable development, which pays tribute to the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE. The Zayed Sustainability Prize was established in 2008 to recognize and reward excellence in health, food, energy, water and global high schools.

Through its 96 recipients, the Awards positively impact the lives of 370 million people around the world. — trade arab news agency