Press release -

The laureate of the US$1million 2017 cycle of the Al-Sumait Prize in the field ofEducation has been announced following its Board of Trustees meeting in Kuwait City

Kuwait City, Monday November 27, 2017 – Laureate for the 2017 cycle of Al-Sumait Prize for African Development in the field of Education has been endorsed by the Prize’s Board of Trustees for its exemplary work in Education development in Africa.

(Picture of Al-Sumait’s Board Chairman H.E. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at the Board Meeting with other Board Members of Al-Sumait Prize)

The recipient organization of the US$1million prize of this prestigious award is The African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Nairobi, Kenya. The decision was announced at the conclusion of Al-Sumait’s Board of Trustees meeting in Kuwait City.

The African Women Educationalists is awarded the prize for its achievements in significantly enhancing gender equity and equality in education through targeted programs, having a profound impact on attitudes and practices towards girls' education and influencing education policies in 33 African countries.

Commenting, Al-Sumait’s Board Chairman H.E. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, said "Our goal, with this prize, is to promote positive change across Africa, and this newly announced laureate of the Al-Sumait Prize for African Development has been working tirelessly in the field of education to create a positive and sustainable difference across Africa."

Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), which administers the award, said: “The organization awarded the 2017 Al-Sumait Prize in the field of Education represents innovative, exciting initiatives being carried out to address education access and quality as well as gender equity challenges facing Africa”

He added that FAWE will receive the award at the KFAS Prizes Ceremony in December under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of the State Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah.

The 2015 Al-Sumait Prize in the field of Health is was awarded to Professor Kevin Marsh in recognition of his sustained research and fieldwork to control and eradicate malaria.The2016 prize in the field of Food Security was jointly awarded to the International Potato Center (CIP) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Al-Sumait’s Board is chaired by H.E. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Other board members include: Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Kwaku Aning, Chairman of the Governing Board of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Chairman of Ghana Nuclear Energy Institute and Former Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Abdulatif Alhamad, Director General and Chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Tareq Al-Mutawa, Executive Member of the Board of Public Gathering Charity Committee and Makhtar Diop, Vice President for Africa, The World Bank.

Topics

  • Economy

Categories

  • education in africa
  • development initiatives in africa
  • al-sumait prize
  • the bill & melinda gates foundation

Kuwait's Al-Sumait Prizes are a set of annual awards designed to honor significant advances in the fields of food security, health and education in Africa. Administered by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) and a Board of Trustees, the awards celebrate the work and accomplishments of Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, a Kuwaiti physician who spent his lifetime helping the poor in Africa in the field of health and education. The objective of the prizes is to recognize best studies, scientific projects, applied research, and innovative initiatives that have a significant impact and lasting influence on advancing progress to economic and social development in Africa. www.alsumaitprize.org