H.E. Abdulla Ali Alhmoudi is the UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh
We had the chance to interview H.E. Abdulla Ali Alhmoudi, the UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh on the Zayed Sustainability Award, how it has made a difference and impacted SMEs, nonprofit organizations and high schools around the globe for a better world.
- What is the Zayed Sustainability Award?
The Zayed Sustainability Prize is a pioneering global award presented by the United Arab Emirates. It recognizes and rewards impactful, innovative and inspiring sustainable solutions from small to medium-sized enterprises ( SME’s ), nonprofit organizations ( NPO’s ) and high schools around the world.
The Zayed Sustainability Award was initiated in 2008 and inspired by the sustainability and humanitarian legacy of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
- What does the award mean to the UAE and how could it impact the UAE?
One of the core strengths of the award is its ongoing understanding of the multifaceted nature of the world’s current challenges. It also has the ability to address these challenges in order to achieve an inclusive and sustainable future for all.
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The Prize has five distinct categories, including health, food, energy, water, and global education. It aligns and creates synergies with both the UAE’s rapidly growing role in international sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs 2030).
- On a global level, how can the prize present a positive impact?
Over the years, the Zayed Sustainability Prize has been awarded to visionaries and innovators all over the world. They have provided sustainable solutions to any challenges that have had a significant impact on their respective communities.
The prize, as a motivator, is working to make positive changes in the world through idea generation, execution, and ultimately, impact.
- Since 2008, in what ways have you seen the projects of entrants change over the years?
Since its inception in 2008, the Prize has been awarded to 106 winners who have made a positive difference in the lives of over 378 million people around the world.
Among them, 2.3 million people have been assisted with nutritious food, 53 million homes have been powered by renewable energy, 11+ million people have access to clean and affordable drinking water, 100 billion liters of water has been saved, 442 thousand people have gained access to affordable healthcare, and 216 thousand women and newborns have received safe maternal healthcare.
- How do you encourage pioneers to apply for the Zayed Sustainability Award?
We encourage pioneers to apply for the Zayed Sustainability Award by reaching out to them through email communication, conducting information dissemination sessions.
The contestants from Bangladesh have grown this year and many developed innovative approaches to dealing with challenges that can be scaled up globally to transform societies, countries, and communities, making way of life more sustainable.
I encourage schools and organisations reach out through the website if they want to partake in this great initiative.
- As Ambassador to the UAE in Dhaka, how do you think the Bangladeshi students who won Zayed Sustainability Award can contribute to their local community?
I think the concept the students provided can be swiftly mass produced to benefit local communities.
As the prospect of scalability and replicability were important factors in getting the award, the Award positively contributes to the local communities as a means of global recognition for motivation along with award grants.
This year, Bangladesh has received two awards. Aside from the school category, LEDARS (Bangladesh) has also received the award in the Water Category.
The organization works to develop integrated water resource management models in disaster-prone areas specially Khulna and Satkhira where water becomes unusable due to salinity and flooding.
- In what ways have school students been able to engage and contribute positively in order to be considered for this award?
The school’s project 2022 uses soil-based microorganisms to produce natural fertilizers and pesticides in order to help accelerate and boost crop production while completely avoiding the health-related effects of chemical use.
The school’s goal is to provide microorganism-based seed and soil treatment chemicals, microbial biofertilizers, and biopesticides to over 2,000 farms across all 64 districts in Bangladesh, allowing them to produce healthier crops in less time.
The project addresses the solution of discontinuing the use of a wide range of pesticides and chemicals, which not only improves human life but also saves the lives of all animal beings and the environment, which is also the ultimate call of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
As the project accelerates production, it will aid in increasing production with limited land resources, thereby contributing to global food sufficiency, a priority agenda for UAE as well. Beyond the scalability and replicability, the above-cited factors have contributed to considering the prize.
For more information about the Zayed Sustainability Prize visit zayedsustainabilityprize.com
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