The Rolex Awards

Ten prizes offered to applicants of all ages to mark program’s 40th anniversary

In 2016, to celebrate the initiative’s four decades of existence, Rolex will offer five Laureate Awards and five Young Laureate Awards, asking an independent jury of experts to choose 10 exceptional individuals who demonstrate that they have pioneering projects that will benefit the world.

The jury will meet early in 2016. The Laureates will each receive 100,000 Swiss francs and the Young Laureates 50,000 Swiss francs each to advance their projects. They will also benefit from worldwide publicity and receive a Rolex chronometer.

“We look forward to receiving proposals that demonstrate the creative energy of those who have an exceptional spirit of enterprise and who want to change the world,” said head of philanthropy at Rolex.

The Rolex Awards are open to anyone over 18 years of age, of any nationality, whose ground-breaking project is helping to expand the knowledge of our world and improve the quality of life on the planet. Projects are grouped broadly in the areas of science and health, applied technology, exploration and discovery, the environment, and cultural heritage.

In addition to demonstrating an exceptional spirit of enterprise, candidates must put forward projects that have a clear purpose, are original, and have a significant impact.

Candidates for the Rolex Awards can submit their project ideas in a short online pre-application. The deadline for pre-application is on May 31.

Only pre-applicants whose projects best meet the selection criteria will be chosen by Rolex for further consideration and will be invited to submit a full application.

Prospective entrants can apply online to the 2016 Rolex Awards at rolexawards.com, where they will find all relevant documents.

Rebecca Irvin,