Abu Dhabi, June 18, 2019:  Emirates Foundation, an independent philanthropic organization set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to facilitate public-private partnerships for empowering youth across the UAE, announced today the launch of the fourth edition of the Emirates Award for the Arabian Gulf Youth. The award aims to unleash young people’s social entrepreneurship potential and to establish leading social enterprises, which are capable of addressing and tackling collective challenges and achieving sustainable outcomes. 

 

Emirates Award for the Arabian Gulf Youth is one of Emirates’ Foundation key initiatives, a competition aimed at encouraging young social entrepreneurs between the ages of 18-35, from across the GCC and residing in the UAE to develop innovative solutions to regional social issues, and empowering them with a solid platform to deliver sustainable social impact for their communities and countries.

 

The top 15 entries will be shortlisted by a senior panel of content and sector experts, who will select the most promising social enterprises. Following the selection, the shortlisted teams will attend an intensive bootcamp training where they will be supervised by a group of highly trained professionals. The aspirants’ efforts will then be assessed by a group of judges, who will ultimately announce the winner. 

 

His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan Managing Director of Emirates Foundation said: “ We are delighted to announce the Fourth Edition for the Emirates Award for the Arabian Gulf Youth which has demonstrated over the years youth awareness of social issues, their insights into the challenges and their ability to articulate solutions to deeply rooted social causes in a relevant and sustainable manner.

 

“Today, our main goal behind EAAGY is to create a social entrepreneurship mindset and empower youth to create innovative revenue generating ventures using market driven mechanisms to solve key and urgent social problems, while making a positive impact on society as a whole.” His Excellency Concluded. 

 

 

 

 

Prizes include training and mentorship by leading UAE based organizations such as Young Arab Leaders and al Ahli Group. In addition, the National Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises run by the Ministry of Economy will offer a yearlong membership with waived fees on all services and the chance to attend national and international training and exhibitions, easy access to federal government tenders, and the privilege of setting up private office space for a period of 3 months.

 

Her Excellency Maytha Al Habsi, Chief Executive Officer at Emirates Foundation said: “The Emirates Award for the Arabian Gulf reflects Emirates Foundation commitment to create an enabling environment that fosters the growth of social entrepreneurship. We are witnessing a great deal of interest, especially amongst youth in the establishment of social enterprises, recognizing their ability to deliver benefits in a self-sustaining way, using revenues to address social challenges through unconventional approaches that complement the work of the private and public sectors, thereby creating a valuable third sector, key to sustainable development.”