Nomination period closed for Al-Sumait Education Prize, over 50 qualified nominations recieved.

Kuwait City, August 1, 2017 – The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) has announced that over 50 nominations from around the world have been received for the 2017 Al-Sumait Prize for African Development in its Education Category, which closed for nominations yesterday

The nominations received comprised of prominent individuals, institutes, organizations and NGO’s working to develop and promote education as a main vehicle to drive socio-economic development in Africa.

The nominee’s dossiers will be reviewed and screened by a panel of experts in Kuwait, headed by Professor Qasem Al-Saraf of Kuwait University to ensure that all applicants fulfil the basic requirements of the prize and then a short list of potential laureates will be produced. The final evaluation stage is entrusted to a Selection Panel composed of prominent international experts in the field, which will meets in Kuwait during October 2017, to study the shortlisted cases and reports of the evaluation team they will then recommend winner(s) of the Prize to the Board of Trustees

The eventual winner(s) of the prize will be selected by the Al-Sumait Board of Trustees, which comprises prominent international personalities in the field of development in Africa and world-renowned philanthropists. The Board is chaired by H.E. Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait.

Other trustees include Mr Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Kwaku Aning, Deputy Director General and Head of Department at the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Mr Abdulatif Al-Hamad, Director General and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.

“An exceptional number of praise-worthy nominations have been received from both individuals and organizations for the Al-Sumait Prize Education Category, which provides a great opportunity to promote pioneering education development throughout Africa by bringing scientific, technological and social ideas to life,” says Dr Mustafa Marafi head of the KFAS Prizes Office.

The annual Al-Sumait prize, which is worth one million dollars, is awarded for significant advances in development in the categories of health, food security and education for Africa. Announced by the Amir of the State of Kuwait, H.H. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in November 2013 at the 3rd Arab African Summit, the aim of Al-Sumait Health Prize is to contribute significantly to solve major health development challenges facing African nations. The prize celebrates the life of the late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, a Kuwaiti physician who devoted his life towards helping the poor in Africa.

For more information, visit www.alsumaitprize.org or contact the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS)

P. (+965) 22270465

info@alsumaitprize.org