Eye on the Prize

Introducing the Zayed Sustainability Prize

2018 has been a landmark year. As a nation, we are celebrating 100 years since the birth of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE. The Year of Zayed is a celebration of Sheikh Zayed’s achievements and honours a life’s legacy forged by a vision for global sustainability and humanitarian values.

This year also marks the 10^th anniversary of the Prize. To date, 66 winners have directly and indirectly affected the lives of over 307 million people. This year the Prize sought to expand its mandate to recognise a wider scope of global priorities, prompting its evolution from the Zayed Future Energy Prize into the Zayed Sustainability Prize.

This strategic refocus aligns the Prize more closely with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the UAE’s National Agenda. The five award categories are now: Health, Food, Energy, Water and Global High Schools.

With a record of over 2,100 submissions from 130 countries received for the 2019 awards, the international reaction to the Prize’s evolution was well received. The submission numbers represent a 78 per cent increase over the previous year and, with entries received from an additional 18 countries, this represents a 16 per cent growth in global reach for the Prize.

International outreach now connecting 130 countries

In July, Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, embarked on an outreach tour to promote the Prize to government officials, policy makers, NGOs and businesses across Europe and the United States. In addition, the Zayed Sustainability Prize team also coordinated several efforts across the African continent, with outreach partners also active in Latin America, Asia and Oceania.

For the African roadshow, the Prize hosted events in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. The team’s efforts proving to be highly effective as, by the close of submissions, Africa provided the highest number of submissions for this year’s award cycle.

Dr. Lamya’s trip to France, the UK, and United States included a series of high-level engagements. These included, but were not limited to, meetings with representatives from IRENA, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), UNDP, and UN-Habitat, among others.

The highlight of the trip was the Zayed Sustainability Prize reception hosted at the UAE Embassy in Washington DC, on July 19. This was part of a highly engaged and active international programme of events held in conjunction with all UAE embassies worldwide. The Washington D.C. event, in particular, welcomed public and private sector delegations in the fields of health, food, energy, water, and education.

https://zayedsustainabilityprize.com/en/

The Zayed Sustainability Prize is a tribute to the legacy of the late founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – a visionary champion of global sustainability. This annual award celebrates achievements that are driving impact, innovation and inspiration across five distinct categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water and Global High Schools.