The Emirates Foundation has launched a new competition that aims to encourage youth from around the region to solve the challenges facing society through the creation of a social enterprise.

The 'Emirates Award for Arabian Gulf Youth,' will given to the contest winners thus reflecting the vision of the foundation in supporting the youth, developing their skills and enabling them to serve their communities.

Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, said: "The award aims to support, motivate and unleash the young people’s social entrepreneurship potential and to establish long-term enterprises to create real, positive and sustainable social impact in the lives of youth in this region."

He called upon the youth of the GCC region to participate in the competition which addresses social problems and aims to find solutions to improve the community by encouraging creativity and constructive ideas.

The award also challenges and encourages the new generation of entrepreneurs to innovate which on its own benefits various spectrums of the community in the region.

Winners of the award, which seeks to encourage ideas from young people between the ages of 18 and 35 years, will receive funding and incubation from Emirates Foundation to develop their social business idea, he added.

Maytha Al Habsi, the chief programmes officer at the Emirates Foundation said “This award plays an important role in involving the youth in the advancement of society through the expression of their ideas in an effective manner to serve the development of their communities.”
 
She called upon the participants to submit their idea through a video demonstration. "The teams and individuals behind the top 15 ideas will be invited to present their ideas to a team of judges from the investment, government and philanthropy communities in a special event," she explained.

Clare Woodcraft, the CEO of Emirates Foundation said: "We are committed to supporting youth initiatives that create real and sustainable social change. We have built strategic partnerships with esteemed entities and organizations within the GCC who will support this platform."

"The Foundation’s business model is about taking a 'business-based' approach to delivering social value so it's great to see how this has resonated with our partners. We have brought together a panel of highly experienced judges from the world of social enterprise. Our winners will be supported by incubation grants and mentoring from us and our partners across the GCC," he added.-TradeArabia News Service