São Paulo – Registrations for the Zayed Future Energy Prize will run until July 6. Organized by the Abu Dhabi government, United Arab Emirates, the competition will award innovative sustainable energy projects in five categories. Total prizes reach USD 4 million.
The five categories are: Large Corporation; Small & Medium Enterprise; Non-profit Organization; Lifetime Achievement; and Global High Schools. In the latter, winners will be selected from five different parts of the world: Americas, Europe, Africa, Oceania and Asia.
The winner in the Large Corporation category receives a commendation as this is the only category that doesn’t give out financial reward. The winners in Small & Medium Enterprise and Non-profit Organizations will get USD 1.5 million each. The winner of the Lifetime Achievement category will receive USD 500,000 and each one of the winning schools will be awarded USD 100,000.
The winners will be chosen based on the following criteria: innovation, impact, leadership and long-term vision. Winners in each category will sign an agreement committing to use the funds from the prize for the development of the sustainability projects registered.
All the finalists will be invited to take part in the award ceremony set to take place in January next year in Abu Dhabi. They will have all travelling expenses covered by the organization.
Brazilians
Brazil has performed well in past editions of the Zayed Prize. Last year, Escola Estadual Prof. Dimas Mozart e Silva, a school in Taquaritinga, 338 km from São Paulo, was a finalist in the Global High Schools category, and in 2013 physicist José Goldemberg won a Lifetime Achievement award.
On Friday (19), Yanire Braña, a representative of the Zayed Prize, met with Ana Paula Fava, head of the Special Advisory for International Affairs of São Paulo state. In the meeting, it was decided that the state government body will promote the prize, alongside the state Education Secretariat, to encourage the participation in the competition of the state’s high schools.
Information on the prize and registrations are available at www.zayedfutureenergyprize.com/en/.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani