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UAE Water Aid Foundation officials at the press conference.

UAE unveils $1m global water award

DUBAI, February 3, 2016

The UAE Water Aid Foundation has launched the $1-million Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award for innovative projects and organisations aiming to find sustainable solutions to tackle the issue of water scarcity using solar energy for purification and desalination.

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 find sustainable solutions to address international water shortages, and fulfill the emirates' ambition to build a knowledge-based economy, with a focus on technology, research, development, and innovation.

It is overseen by the UAE Water Aid Foundation (also known as Suqia) under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, one of the largest development and community foundations in the Middle East.

Unveiling the award details, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the chairman of the board of trustees of The UAE Water Aid Foundation, said: "It will be given in three categories - Innovative Projects Award (Small and Large projects), Innovative Research and Development Award (National and International institutions), and the Innovative Youth Award."

Al Tayer noted that the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award is aimed at finding sustainable solutions to the issue of water scarcity, using solar energy to purify and desalinate water.

"In June 2014, Sheikh Mohammed launched the UAE Water Aid initiative to provide clean water to approximately five million people worldwide. Suqia, UAE Water Aid’s campaign, has raised Dh180 million ($48.9 million) to provide clean drinking water to over seven million people around the world," stated Al Tayer at a press conference in Dubai, UAE.

It was attended by Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, the secretary general of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Brigadier Ahmed Khalfan Al Mansoori, the secretary general of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace, Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, the executive vice president of Khalifa University, Nasser Lootah, the executive VP of Generation at Dewa, Waleed Ali Salman, the executive VP of Strategy & Business Development at Dewa, and Mohammed Abdulkareem Al Shamsi, the acting executive director of UAE Water Aid.

Quoting Sheikh Mohammed, he said: "Water is the spirit of life and providing it for the needy means reviving millions of people. The UAE Water Aid Foundation will not differentiate between one person and another, so are all of our humanitarian works; such is the UAE humanitarian mission that lies in helping the afflicted, the needy and disadvantaged people all over the world without any distinction."

This award will help to achieve this objective by driving the search for sustainable solutions to address water scarcity around the world, noted Al Tayer.

Acording to him, the Foundation promoted the award at various international events such as COP21 in Paris, activities and meetings that coincided with the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Solar Decathlon in California, US, and the Carbon Ambassadors Programme, in Dubai, UAE.

Al Shamsi said the Innovative Projects category is for organisations that succeed in innovating distinguished projects to produce, desalinate, or purify water using solar power.

"This category consists of two sub categories: the Small Projects category is for projects by for-profit or non-profit companies, and government or non-government organisations. Projects must have a capital expenditure of up to $10 million. The Large Projects category is for projects by for-profit or non-profit companies, and government or non-government organisations. Project must have a capital expenditure exceeding $10 million," he explained.

Applicants for the Innovative Research and Development category must submit innovative technologies or a prototypes for using solar energy to produce, desalinate, purify, or effectively manage water resources.

This has two sub-categories: The National Institutions category is for educational or non-profit institutions and research centres in the UAE. The International Institutions category is for educational or non-profit institutions and research centres outside the UAE.

For the Innovative Youth Award, the critera is the applicants must be younger than 40 years. Also they present innovative technological solutions to address water scarcity exclusively using solar energy to produce safe drinking water.

Besides, the project must be developed and implemented by individuals, not groups, it stated.

The UAE Water Aid Foundation said it will start accepting applications on March 22 coinciding with World Water Day.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: UAE | Dubai | Projects |

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