The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the leading global award launched by the UAE to honor innovative sustainability solutions, announced this year’s finalists after deliberations by jury members. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony, which will be held on January 14, 2025 during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, and the jury selected 33 finalists in six categories, including health, food, energy, water, climate action, and international high schools.
In its current session, the award received 5,980 applications for participation, an increase representing 15% compared to the previous session. His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, President of the Conference of the Parties (COP28), and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, praised the exceptional levels of innovation and focus on real-world impact that distinguished the finalists. On this occasion, His Excellency said that the “Zayed Sustainability Prize” continues its efforts to contribute to consecrating the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, in line with the vision and directives of the wise leadership and its efforts aimed at improving the quality of life and promoting sustainable economic and social development in societies around the world. , especially the most vulnerable areas.
He added that the award received in its current session an unprecedented number of entries, and witnessed high levels of participation from the youth category and countries of the Global South, noting that the solutions presented this year reflect the three major trends that will shape the future of the world, which are the growth of artificial intelligence, and the rise of emerging countries in Global South, and an orderly, realistic and responsible energy transition.
He said: “We are proud to present a pioneering model in contributing to achieving environmental sustainability and climate neutrality goals by supporting innovations based on emerging technologies, most notably artificial intelligence, carbon capture, and advanced climate analyses, which play a pivotal role in pushing the global movement towards a new era of sustainability and enhancing the ability to Achieving economic growth, without compromising the security of natural resources and efforts to combat climate change.” Through its 117 previous winners, the award has contributed to providing 11.3 million people with access to safe drinking water, delivering clean and reliable energy supplies to 54 million homes, providing 3.6 million people with access to quality food, and providing affordable health care to more than 744,600. person.
For his part, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Chairman of the Award Jury, said: “The final candidates for the Award this year reflect the serious endeavors the world is witnessing and the extent of their determination to meet urgent global needs by relying on innovation, and that through their pioneering and comprehensive solutions to various areas of sustainability, starting with enhancing… Biodiversity and food security Using innovative technologies, all the way to providing energy and healthcare solutions to underserved communities, the finalists are reshaping our world and presenting a creative vision for a more sustainable future.” In the Health category, the finalists focused on providing high-quality healthcare services to underserved and remote communities.
The list of finalists in this category included: Berrywinkle Technologies, from the SME sector from India, which is deploying a portable device powered by artificial intelligence to screen for cervical cancer, providing results within 30 seconds, and Rology, from the corporate sector. Small and medium-sized enterprises from Egypt have developed a platform supported by artificial intelligence to diagnose and write medical radiology reports remotely around the clock, and can be integrated with hospital systems to ensure rapid and accurate diagnosis. Telemedan Company, from the small and medium-sized enterprises sector from Chad, is working to deploy existing medical kiosks. Solar powered and connected to the Internet to provide affordable healthcare in remote communities. On the other hand, the final nominees, within the food category, focused on empowering small business leaders in the field of food production, promoting food preservation in sustainable ways, and transforming barren lands into productive farms.
The list of finalists for this category included: the non-profit organization “Abalobi” from South Africa, which developed a phone application and a digital marketplace to enable small fish farm owners to list their fish products and sell them directly to consumers, and “Nafarm Foods” from the small and medium enterprises sector. from Nigeria, which provides adjustable hybrid solar food dryers to preserve food and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and the Xinjiang Shaoan Oasis Institute for Sustainable Development, a non-profit organization from China, specializing in smart solar greenhouses that turn desert lands into green farms. . Finalists in the Energy category also presented innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency and enhance access to renewable energy sources and clean transportation.
The list of finalists for this category included: D-Olivet Global Enterprise from the small and medium enterprises sector from Nigeria, which offers a smart solution for waste management based on Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies, which allows improving the efficiency of waste collection operations by 40%, and “Turbulent” from the SME sector from Belgium, which develops environmentally friendly hydroelectric turbines capable of converting 60% of water energy into electricity, and “Balke Motors Limited” from the SME sector from Bangladesh, which produces low-cost local electric cars and establishes power stations. Solar powered battery replacement. Within the Water category, the finalists’ solutions targeted improving water efficiency and enhancing access to clean drinking water. The list of finalists for this category included: Elman Technology Ltd., from the small and medium enterprises sector from Turkey, which provides sensors to improve water use in irrigation and agriculture, which reduces labor costs by 80%, and the High Atlas Foundation is A non-profit organization from Morocco provides a solar-powered water pumping system to improve groundwater extraction, and the Sky Juice Foundation, a non-profit organization from Australia, works to deploy low-cost, easy-to-install water filters that provide clean drinking water without the need for chemicals or additives. Pumps or external power sources. For the Climate Action category, finalists focused on the areas of carbon capture, ecosystem restoration, and climate change adaptation.
The list of finalists for this category included: “Distant Emery” company from the SME sector from the United Arab Emirates, which specializes in developing artificial intelligence-powered drones used for environmental monitoring, seed planting, and natural habitat restoration, and “ Hiera Inc., from the small and medium-sized enterprises sector from the United States of America, has developed an innovative carbon capture process with the aim of reducing water pollution by converting agricultural waste and forest waste into activated carbon, and “Open Map Development Tanzania” is a non-profit organization from Tanzania that provides a solution. Effective flood management combines local knowledge and geospatial data.
On the other hand, the finalists in the Global High Schools category presented sustainable solutions based on student-led projects. The list of finalists in this category was divided into six geographical regions, and included: The Americas region: Centro de Estudios Technológicos del Mar 7 from Mexico, San Nicolas de Tolentino Educational Foundation from Colombia, and Mulgrave School from Canada, and from sub-Saharan Africa: “Embisafoundation Academy” from Kenya, “Skafia Islamic Senior Secondary School” from Ghana, and “St. Kizito Secondary School in Namugongo” from Uganda. The Middle East and North Africa region: “Ibn Al-Ahrash Al-Saeed High School” from Algeria, “Happy Land International School Abu Dhabi” from the Emirates, “The Outstanding School of Science and Technology in Obour” from Egypt, and from the Europe and Central Asia region: “Baku Modern Educational Complex” from Azerbaijan, “Gebze Bahçehir Science and Technology High School” from Turkey, “Tashkent Presidential School” from Uzbekistan, and the South Asia region: “Faafu Atoll Education Center” from the Maldives, “Khaplu Girls Higher Secondary School” from Pakistan, and “Janamitri Multiple Camps” from Nepal, and from the East Asia and Pacific region: “Beijing Global Youth Academy” from China, “Te Pao Rakai Hutu School” from New Zealand, and “Futulivu College” from Fiji. The winner of each category of health, food, energy, water and climate action will receive US$1 million, while each of the six winning global high schools will receive up to US$150,000.
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