Dubai, UAE, 10 February 2021: The UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) held a virtual briefing for members of the press from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to promote the third cycle of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award. The upcoming cycle will feature the most innovative technologies that can sustainably provide safe drinking water to needy urban and rural communities. It grants prizes worth USD 1 million to research institutions, organisations, individuals, and innovators from around the world with the most creative, sustainable and cost-effective technology solutions to address the growing lack of access to safe potable water.

“The virtual media briefing is vital to Suqia’s efforts to reach more participants from different parts of the world. One of the Award’s objectives is to discover and find the most innovative solutions that provide communities with access to clean water. This is a basic human right. The Award, which was launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, reflects the commitment of Dubai and the UAE to help poverty- and disaster-stricken communities. It also highlights Dubai’s belief in the importance of integrating innovation and sustainability into the international movement geared towards solving global water scarcity. Through the Award, we intend to support projects and innovations that provide safe drinking water to those communities that lack access to it,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Water Aid Foundation.

“The Award is a platform to showcase projects that are capable of making a difference in the lives of needy people around the world. It is a venue where the globe’s brightest minds are given the opportunity to develop efficient and cost-effective technologies and foster a culture of innovation in their work environments. Since its launch, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award has been instrumental in discovering creative and cost-effective approaches to water supply issues. We aim to continue this goal with the staging of the upcoming third cycle,” added Al Tayer.

Suqia officials and executives led by Mohammed Abdulkareem Alshamsi, the Acting Executive Director, briefed the media about the objectives of the Award, its categories, criteria and process that will attract more entries from ASEAN member countries. Participants included representatives from Jakarta Post of Indonesia, WFTV Malaysia, the Business Mirror from the Philippines, and the Water Agency and Myanmar Water Portal from Myanmar. Tech Times Vietnam, Vietnam Economic Times, Asian Water Magazine and Ringier China also took part, in addition to several freelance journalists.

The Award is organised every two years and has four award categories. During the previous two cycles, the pioneering projects of 20 awardees, including individuals, pioneering organisations, and research centres, received awards for developing innovative models capable of producing clean water using solar power.

For the third cycle, Suqia has expanded the Award's scope to include new technologies that produce, distribute, store, monitor, desalinate and purify water using renewable energy. A fourth new category was added, Innovative Crisis Solutions Award.  It recognises innovations that can provide relief within the critical 48 hours after internationally-declared emergencies. This highlights that rapid access to safe drinking water is a crucial element for survival in crises and natural disasters.

All companies, research centres and institutes, innovators, and youth worldwide that have innovative technologies designed to provide solutions to water scarcity can participate.  Online submission of entries to the Award’s third cycle can be sent via https://www.suqia.ae/en/awards. Submissions began on 16 November, 2020 and will close on 30 April, 2021.