São Paulo – The Consulate of the United Arab Emirates in São Paulo, Brazil, held a lunch this Wednesday (10) to announce the Zayed Sustainability Prize that recognizes sustainable projects in different areas. The prize will have its 11th edition in 2020 and has open registrations worldwide until May 30. The event took place at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters in São Paulo and gathered representatives from schools and state and city departments of education, entrepreneurs, São Paulo state government authorities, and diplomats.
Speeches were delivered by the UAE general consul Ibrahim Salem Alalawi (photo above), São Paulo state Environment undersecretary Eduarto Trani, São Paulo state secretary of Culture and Creative Economy coordinator Antonio Lessa, and São Paulo city Foreign Relations secretary Luiz Alvaro Salles Aguiar de Menezes.
“This is a very important prize to help building a future with alternative energy sources for the next generations, as well as providing a priceless cultural interchange,” said consul Alalawi, who thanked the Arab Brazilian Chamber for the support providing the space for the event.
“This is a space for the Arabs, and it is with great honor we receive such an event, which is closely related to the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s mission, specially to announce a prize so important,” said Arab Brazilian Chamber president Rubens Hannun during the lunch. In addition to Hannun, Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO Tamer Mansour and vice-presidents Riad Younes, Osmar Chohfi and Mohamed Murad were also present . The physician and former minister José Goldemberg, who won the prize in 2013 at the category Life Achievement also participated in the lunch.
According to Katia Gutierrez, responsible for the Zayed Prize in Brazil, this is a great opportunity to raise global awareness to Brazilian sustainable projects. “This prize is life-changing and has zero cost for the finalists who get to present their projects in Abu Dhabi,” she stressed. According to Gutierrez, around 50 Brazilian projects have already been registered. “We hope we will have not only Brazilian finalists this year but also a Brazilian winner, she said.
The public-school Prof. Dimas Mozart e Silva, from Taquarituba, a town with 20,000 inhabitants in São Paulo, was a finalist in the Global High Schools category in 2017 and 2018. Last year, another Brazilian school in Brasília was also a finalist, the Centro Educacional Agrourbano Ipê. From the school Dimas, teacher Viviane Cristina Ramos and the students Rafael Ferreira Oliveira and Vinicius Henrique Silva made a presentation talking about the project Nossa Escola Sustentável and the experience of going to Abu Dhabi as the prize’s finalists.
“It was a very enriching experience both individually and collectively for the school, we became an example of a sustainable small community and we wish other schools have this opportunity; the young protagonism is key for this project’s success,” said Oliveira, who traveled to Abu Dhabi as the prize’s finalist last year; now he has graduated from high school and is in college, thinking about teaching.
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The 15-years-old Silva is one of the project’s leader this year, which includes approximately 50 students, and said he really wants not only to be a finalist but to win the prize. “It would be a landmark for me,” he said.
The teacher was excited to say they are going to register again this year. “It is the same project but it evolves each year. We’ve managed to realize many plans and now our main goal is to spread it to other schools in the area,” said Ramos.
Pedro Valim, a sophomore from Colégio Dante Alighieri, talked about his solo project of reusing mining wastes. “My idea is reusing wastes at construction, transforming them into bricks,” said Valim, who is only 14. He said he will register the project for the Zayed Prize but has already an opportunity to go to Abu Dhabi this year.
“I’ve won 2nd place at Monstratec (annual science and technology fair that takes place in Novo Hamburgo, Brazil), and the prize was the credential to Milset Expo-Sciences International, a science and technology fair in Abu Dhabi in September,” he explained.
Registrations
The prize has five categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, and Global High Schools – in the latter, there are six awards, one for each region, which are divided as Americas, Europe and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and Pacific, South Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa. Registrations are free and must be submitted in English at the prize’s website.
The annual prize recognizes achievements in impact reduction, innovation, and inspiration. The prize’s fund is USD 3 million and will be equally distributed in parts of USD 600,000 for each of the five categories. In the high-school category, the prize will be divided among six schools, which means USD 100,000 for each school.
The prize ceremony occurs during the Sustainability Week in Abu Dhabi in January. All finalists will be invited to attend.
The prize
The Zayed Sustainability Prize is a tribute to the legacy of the late founder of the United Arab Emirates, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
For more information, go to the award’s website.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
