The African Women Educationalists, FAWE, wins $1million Al-Sumait Prize in Education

Mon, Nov 27, 2017 | By publisher


Education

 

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.

The recipient organisation 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, Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Al-Sumait’s Board chairman, 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.”

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 would receive the award at the KFAS Prizes Ceremony in December under the patronage of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Amir of the State Kuwait.

The 2015 Al-Sumait Prize in the field of Health is was awarded to 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 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; 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.

Al-Sumait Prize for African Development, which honours individuals and/or institutions who help advance economic and social development, human resources development and infrastructure in Africa, was instigated on the initiative of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait.

Al-Sumait award, which covers one of three categories each year: Health, Food Security and Education, is administered by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, KFAS, and a Board of Trustees who oversee the selection of the recipients. The award commemorates the legacy of the late Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, a Kuwaiti physician, who dedicated his life to addressing the health, education and food security challenges confronting Africa and established the Direct Aid humanitarian organisation.

– Nov. 27, 2017 @ 14:16 GMT /

 

 

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