UAE President honours 10 winners of 2023 Zayed Sustainability Prize
2023 Zayed Sustainability Prize winners were announced at the recent Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Winners were chosen in five categories including health, food, energy, and water categories.
In the Health category, Brazil’s Associação Expedicionários da Saúde (EDS) was awarded the Prize for its Mobile Hospital Complex, which provides specialised medical and surgical care for indigenous communities geographically isolated within the Amazon.
Ÿnsect from France was the Food category winner for its important work in insect-based protein and natural fertilisers. The SME produces insect protein and natural insect fertilisers at Europe’s first-of-its-kind insect factory equipped with innovative vertical farming and integrated biorefining setup.
In the Energy category, the Jordan-based NeuroTech developed Al-based algorithms with a blockchain-based transaction system to bring reliable energy access to refugee camps. By optimising energy usage and distribution, NeuroTech has helped reduce the pressure on the camp’s main hospital respiratory section by making electricity available 24/7.
LEDARS (Local Environment Development and Agricultural Research Society), an NPO from Bangladesh, secured the Water category win for its integrated water resource management model that solves water scarcity issues in disaster-prone areas. Their combination of technologies help transforms communities in Bangladesh, so people can have access to safe drinking water and climate smart livelihoods.
The 2023 Global High School award winners are Fundacion Bios Terrae - ICAM Ubate (Colombia), representing The Americas; Romain-Rolland-Gymnasium (Germany), representing Europe & Central Asia; Gifted Students School (Iraq), representing the Middle East & North Africa region; UWC East Africa - Arusha Campus (Tanzania), representing Sub-Saharan Africa; Dhaka Residential Model College (Bangladesh), representing South Asia, and finally, Kamil Muslim College (Fiji) from the East Asia & Pacific region.
The winners were selected from a pool 4,538 – a record number of submissions – chosen by a panel of more than 40 experts. The Jury members include Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Former President of the Republic of Iceland, UAE ministers, Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group, Dr. Andreas Jacobs, Chairman of INSEAD, Jacobs Family Council, among others.
The Chair of the Jury and former President of the Republic of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, said, “This year’s winners have demonstrated a new level of creativity and ambition in their solutions to tackle pressing global challenges. We are confident that these winners will provide meaningful and scalable impact in communities across the world, and in turn accelerate important climate action goals to help secure a sustainable future for all.”
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said, “Since our (UAE) leadership established the Zayed Sustainability Prize 15 years ago, the Prize has become a key supporter of the UAE's vision to drive inclusive climate action and international sustainable development. By providing real-world solutions in sustainability to vulnerable communities around the world, the Prize honours Sheikh Zayed’s contribution towards social good, and elevates humanity on a global scale.”
Through its 96 former winners, the Prize has transformed the lives of more than 378 million people around the world since 2008, including in Vietnam, Nepal, Sudan, Ethiopia, Maldives and Tuvalu. In the health, food, energy, and water categories, each winner receives US$600,000, while the Global High Schools category has six winners, representing six world regions, with each winner receiving up to US$100,000.
