The award is open to SMEs, NGOs and high schools in the Dominican Republic.
The organizers of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, an award for global sustainability and humanitarianism, have officially announced the opening of entries for the 2025 cycle. Entries will be accepted until June 23, 2024 through the Award’s online portal.
They indicated that the award has already recognized Dominican initiatives. In 2022, the Iberia Institute was awarded and recognized with the Zayed Sustainability Award in the Secondary Schools category as one of the schools that provides innovative, impactful and inspiring solutions. The Institute proposed a project that converts used cooking oil into biodiesel and use it to power the institution’s generator.
“Through this project, the students had a positive impact on the environment by reducing the use of fossil fuels produced by the power plant, while inspiring community members to make more sustainable choices,” the award organizers say in a statement.
They added: “This project taught and fostered students’ entrepreneurial spirit by using the glycerin obtained as a by-product of the conversion to make organic soap.”
What does the Award consist of?
This is an annual award created in the United Arab Emirates, which has been awarded since 2008 and recognizes and rewards the achievements of those who drive sustainability solutions – “impactful, innovative and inspiring”- Small and medium-sized enterprises, non-profit organizations and high schools with sustainable solutions are invited to apply in one of six categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools.
They reported that, in the case of the Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Energy categories, organizations must demonstrate that they are improving access to essential products or services in their target communities, and that they are able to apply a long-term vision to improve living and working conditions. For the Global High Schools category, projects must be student-led and demonstrate innovative approaches to addressing sustainability challenges.
Commenting on the launch of the 2025 entry cycle, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, “Since 2008, the Zayed Sustainability Award has honored Sheikh Zayed’s legacy by fostering inclusive, sustainable and humanitarian development around the world.”
“In this defining decade for climate change, these values are more important than ever. I am optimistic that the Prize will contribute to global climate action in line with the UAE Consensus, which will pave the way towards an effective response to the Global Stocktake decision,” said Al Jaber, who served as COP28 chair.
Who can apply to participate in the Zayed Sustainability Award?
The call for entries is open for sustainable initiatives that address at least one of the six categories offered by the award. Eligible entries are: Small and medium-sized businesses, also non-profit organizations and public and private high schools.
In response to the climate crisis, and to further support the UAE’s efforts to accelerate the practical solutions needed to drive climate action and improve vulnerable communities around the world, the Prize has increased its funding from $3.6 million to $5.9 million.
The Prize will award $1 million to each winner in the Health, Food, Energy, Water and Climate Action categories. In the Global High Schools category, which is divided into six regions of the world, each school can claim up to US$150,000 to start or further expand its project. The six world regions of the Global High Schools category are the Americas, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific. The most recent winners were honored at COP28.
How to apply for the Zayed Prize and until when is there time to apply?
To register, go to the Zayed Prize website: https://zayedsustainabilityprize.com/. Once there, you will have to register and after verifying your identity, you will be able to sign up. There is time to register until June 23, 2024.
To encourage participation from a wider range of organizations and secondary schools, the Award will accept applications in several languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. This will ensure that innovative solutions from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds can be recognized.
The evaluation of each Award application consists of a rigorous three-stage process. First, all submissions are duly reviewed to ensure that they meet the evaluation criteria of Impact, Innovation and Inspiration.
This process identifies qualified applications and results in the selection of eligible candidates. A Selection Committee, composed of independent international panels of experts for each category, then conducts the evaluations.
From this shortlist of candidates, finalists are chosen and then forwarded to the award jury, which unanimously selects the winners in each of the six categories. The winners of the Zayed Sustainability Award will be announced at the Awards Ceremony during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2025.
Source: Diariolibre.com
