Water champs win big in Dubai
dubai — Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, honoured 10 winners from eight countries at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award, which is worth $1 million.
Winners of the award came from the UAE, Qatar, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, and Greece.
The award was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to encourage research centres, individuals and innovators from around the world to find innovative and sustainable solutions for clean-water scarcity around the world, using solar power. The award is overseen by the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
It has three main categories: Innovative Projects Award, Innovative Research and Development Award, and the Innovative Youth Award.
The award ceremony was attended by Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Sultan bin Ahmad Al Jaber, Minister of State; Ahmad bin Abdulla Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education; and others.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Suqia, welcomed the guests.
Al Tayer noted that hundreds of millions of children won’t have access to clean water in the future, and that girls now spend 200 million hours a day collecting water, which affects their education, ac- cording to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). The United Nations agency has warned us that 600 million children will live in areas with severely limited cleanwater resources by 2040.
“The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award, bears the name of a person whose generosity is not just for the people of the UAE, but also helps those in need anywhere in the world. It supports international efforts to provide drinking water to the needy by devising practical and sustainable solutions to water scarcity,” Al Tayer added. By the end of last year, our projects provided potable clean water to over 8 million people in 19 countries worldwide. Suqia also collaborated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to provide relief to Yemen, benefitting over a million people, according to the Ministry’s report.
The award committee received 138 applications from 43 countries around the world, Al Tayer noted. “We were also pleased with how many young people took part, which reaffirms the role of the UAE as a platform that motivates innovation, an incubator of creativity, and a destination for innovators from all over the world,” added Al Tayer.
He quoted His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who once said, “We may not live for hundreds of years, but the products of our creativity can leave a legacy long after we are gone”.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award is based on a rigorous assessment process, based on the highest standards and best international practices, to measure the feasibility of projects.