Al-Sumait Prize 2019 Invitation for Nominations

The Amir of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, announced an initiative to the third African Arab Summit hosted by the State of Kuwait. This initiative described an annual award by the State of Kuwait for the advancement of economic, social, human resources, and infrastructure development in the African continent titled the "Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait Prize", after a Kuwaiti physician who spent his lifetime dedicated towards helping the poor in Africa in the field of health and education. The prize is to be awarded annually to individuals or institutions within one of the proposed three fields (Food Security, Health and Education), and has a value of $1,000,000 (One million US dollars). The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) (www.KFAS.org) and the Board of Trustees (BOT) for the prize will oversee the prize. KFAS will provide administrative and logistic support.

The objective of the prize is the appreciation, recognition of the best studies, scientific projects, applied research, and innovative initiatives, which within the announce field have made significant impact and lasting influence in advancing progress to economic and social development in Africa. The awarded projects should help African nations to overcome poverty, hunger, lack of potable water, injustice or to improve health care, literacy and the allocation of economic resources.

The subject for the 2019 prize is Food Security:

The prize is to be awarded to individuals or institutions who through their research projects or initiatives have made significant advancement within one or more of the following areas of Food Security on the African Continent:

• Developing new varieties of seeds, crops or livestock which can improve the food security of the poor population in Africa by increasing the calorific and nutritional value of food produced and consumed domestically.
• Improving farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, techniques, technologies and markets so as to increase the availability of staple products which form a core part of the diet of the poorest people in Africa.
• Improving farmers’ resilience to climate change and extreme weather conditions.
• Improving marketing and adopting modern business strategies.
• Addressing issues relevant to gender equity in the field of the Prize.

Conditions and requirements:

1. The nominated candidates’ research work or projects and initiatives must be innovative and must have achieved high-impact in line with international standards for the prize.
2. The submitted work must be of paramount importance in promoting significant economic, social, human resources and infrastructure development in the African continent within the announced field of the prize.
3. Submitted research work of a nominated candidate should be composed of studies and applied research, published in peer reviewed journals and recognized at a global level within the announced field. The research outcome needs to have been applied after publication in African countries within the past ten years. Adequate supporting evidence needs to be provided including collaboration with African NGO’s and farmer organizations.
4. Nominations are to be accepted from institutions and scientific centers (universities, institutes and centers of scientific research) as well as from competent regional or international and UN organizations and awards and former winners in the field of the prize or former evaluation members. Nominations will only be accepted through institutions or other possible nominators mentioned above.
5. All submissions must be submitted in English. If the work is carried out in other working UN languages, a comprehensive summary of the nominated work in English must be submitted.
6. Fill in the prize application form and send it along with the scientific production works electronically in PDF format via CD, DVD, Flash Memory or via the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) Prizes Office email alsumaitprize@kfas.org.kw  The nomination form can be obtained from the http://www.ALSumaitPrize.org/nominations/. Applications are addressed to the Director General of the foundation.
7. The application and submitted works must be received before 30/04/2019

For more information and inquiries please, contact the Prizes Office T (+965) 22270465 F (+965) 22270462 E alsumaitprize@kfas.org.kw

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).