The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the pioneering award in global sustainability and humanitarianism, has officially announced the opening of registrations for the 2025 cycle. Registrations will be accepted until June 23, 2024, through the Prize’s online portal.
What does the Prize entail?
It is an annual award created in the United Arab Emirates, presented since 2008, which recognizes and rewards the achievements of those driving impactful, innovative, and inspiring sustainability solutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises, non-profit organizations, and secondary schools are invited to submit their applications in one of the six categories:
Health
Food
Energy
Water
Climate Action
Global High Schools
In the case of the Health, Food, Energy, Water, and Climate Action categories, organizations must demonstrate that they are improving access to essential products or services in their target communities and are capable of applying a long-term vision to enhance living and working conditions. For the Global High Schools category, projects should be led by students and demonstrate innovative approaches to addressing sustainability challenges.
In commenting on the launch of the 2025 registration cycle, H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Director-General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, and President of COP28, stated: ‘Since 2008, the Zayed Sustainability Prize has honored the legacy of Sheikh Zayed by promoting inclusive, sustainable, and humanitarian development worldwide. In this pivotal decade for climate change, these values are more crucial than ever. I am optimistic that the Prize will contribute to global climate action in line with the United Arab Emirates’ consensus, paving the way for an effective response to the World Balance decision”.
Who can register to participate in the Zayed Sustainability Prize?
The call is open for sustainable initiatives addressing at least one of the six categories offered by the prize. The following are eligible to register:
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Non-profit organizations
Global High Schools
In response to the climate crisis and to further support the United Arab Emirates’ efforts in accelerating practical solutions necessary to drive climate action and improve vulnerable communities worldwide, 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, divided into six regions worldwide, each school can claim up to $150,000 to initiate or further expand their project. The six regions in the Global High Schools category are the Americas, Europe and Central Asia, the 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 register for the Zayed Prize and until when is the deadline?
“To register, you need to visit the prize’s website: https://zayedsustainabilityprize.com Once there, you will need to sign up, and after verifying your identity, you can proceed with the registration. The deadline for registration is June 23, 2024.
To encourage the participation of a more diverse range of organizations and secondary schools, the Prize will accept submissions in various languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese. This ensures that innovative solutions from diverse linguistic and cultural contexts can be recognized.
The evaluation of each submission for the Prize involves a rigorous three-stage process. Firstly, all presentations are thoroughly reviewed to ensure they meet the Impact, Innovation, and Inspiration evaluation criteria. This process identifies qualified submissions and results in the selection of eligible candidates. Next, a Selection Committee, comprising independent international expert groups for each category, conducts the assessments. From this preselection of candidates, finalists are chosen and then submitted to the prize jury, which unanimously selects the winners in each of the six categories.
The winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize will be announced at the Award Ceremony during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) in 2025.
