Winners of Princess Seetah Award : Saudi Arabia

The winners of ‘ The Princess Seetah bint Abdul Aziz Award ‘ – were as follows: 

Excellence in national achievement: Health ministry’s volunteering program and education ministry’s distance learning digital platform ‘Madrasti’ (my school)

Excellence in Islamic endowment: General Authority for Endowments for mitigating the effects of the virus on people through its humanitarian initiatives. 

Excellence in social work: The Madinah Al-Munawarah’s NGO for its ‘The good city initiative.’

Excellence for social work entrepreneurs: Sheikh Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Subeai for setting up a charitable institution and donating money to various causes in the Kingdom during the pandemic.

Corporate social responsibility: Advanced Petrochemical Company for its initiatives during the pandemic and Sadara Chemical Company for its work with the health sector in tackling COVID-19.

Established in April of 2012 by royal decree, the Princess Seetah bint Abdul Aziz Foundation for Excellence in Social Work is an independent nonprofit organization.

The late Princess Seetah was famous for her piety, devotion and benevolence. Known as “the mother of the needy” and “the mother of goodness,” her charitable efforts made her a household name over the course of her life.

Her house was open to all types of Saudi people. She would meet with them, listen to their problems and try to find solutions either by following up on their issues, helping them financially or presenting their problems to those in charge if she was unable to do so herself.

During her life, she served as president of the National Family Safety Program, as an honorary member of the Saudi Historical Society, president of Safat Al-Khair Project and president of Al-Saud Women’s Forum.

www.seetahaward.org

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The Seventh Princess Seetah Awards’ gala dinner was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh. (AN Photo) / pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

DEWA Wins 2020 Middle East and Africa Renewable Deal of the Year Award

 Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has won the ‘2020 Middle East and Africa Renewables Deal of the Year’ from Project Finance International (PFI) magazine for the photovoltaic 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. PFI magazine, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, focuses on tracking and analysing projects, financial budgets and project deals worldwide.

The solar park is the largest single-site solar park in the world with a planned production capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030″

The fifth phase is to provide clean energy to 270,000 residences in Dubai. This will reduce 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The project is due for commissioning in stages starting Q3 of 2021.

source: wam.ae

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pix: wam.ae

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

Dr. Sadeg Faris – Inventor and Entrepreneur

Sadeg M. Faris, Ph.D, Engineer. Entrepreneur. CEO – Reveo Inc, USA

Founder & CEO : Reveo Inc,

Founded and spun off 4 companies: EVionyx (New York-Taiwan), VRex (New York) and Chelix (California)

Has more than 400 issued patents to his credit

Awards:

  • 2009 Inventor of the Year – by New York Intellectual Property Law Association

Education:

  • B.S (1969), University of California
  • M.S (1971), University of California
  • Ph. D – University of California, Berkeley (1976)

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By Riverdance7 – taken with iphone, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45699936

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AMERICAN / LIBYAN-AMERICAN / ARAB AMERICAN

Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Musaad Buys Another Football Club. Taking his Tally to 5 Football Clubs

Prince Abdullah bin Musaad has recently acquired the French Club – Chateauroux prop up French second division.

The club is being bought through his company, United World.

Chief executive Abdallah Al-Ghamdi “saw the last game and reached an agreement with club officials and the board of directors,” the prince said.

His current porfolio :

  •  Sheffield United, England’s Premier League
  • Beerschot , Belgium,
  • Kerala United, India
  • Al-Hilal United , UAE

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Prince Abdullah bin Musaad / pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Qatar to Remain World’s Largest LNG Exporter

Currently, Qatar is the largest LNG exporter, and it is working to increase its liquefaction capacity to 126 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) by 2027.

Post-2027, a further 55 mtpa of speculative LNG projects remain to be completed.

It is forecast that Qatar will maintain its position as the top LNG exporter in the world by 2050,” noted the 5th edition of ‘Global Gas Outlook 2050’ by GECF. 

Qatar along with Iran will contribute significantly in the growth of natural gas production in the Middle East, noted a report released by Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) yesterday.  

source: www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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pix: qatargas.com

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QATAR

DEWA wins Quality Management award from UN SDGs Challenge 2021

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has won the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Challenge 2021.

The award recognises DEWA’s efforts in sustainable development and its support of the UAE’s efforts to achieve the UN SDGs.

DEWA achieved a significant score of 89.17 percent in the sustainability culture indicator index in 2019, exceeding the global average.

The indicator is based on several aspects, including leadership in achieving sustainability, strategic commitment to sustainability, innovation in sustainability, training effectiveness, and awareness about the UN’s SDGs.

source: wam.ae

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pix: mediaoffice.ae

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

UN Adopts May 10th as International Day of Argania : March 2021

The Permanent Mission of Morocco to the UN announced today that the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution proclaiming May 10th of each year as the International Day of Argania.

Argan trees cover more than 71% of the Souss valley in south-western Morocco.

Morocco’s rich resources position Morocco as the largest international exporter of argan-based products.

Argan is a popular ingredient in beauty cosmetics, including for hair and skin care.

Argan product sales for medicine, cosmetics, and consumption makeup over 90% of the Souss-Massa region’s economy.

Over  17,500 cooperatives are active in the argan industry. Most of the rural businesses employ local women, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

source: moroccoworldnews.com

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Morocco submitted a draft resolution, citing the important role of the argan tree in promoting job creation in rural areas across the country / pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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MOROCCO

First Joint Saudi-Japanese Anime Film “The Journey” : March 2021

Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions has launched a promotional video for the first joint Saudi-Japanese anime film “The Journey” using 4 G technology.

A number of famous Arab actors have taken part in the Arabic version of the movie, including Nassar Al-Nassar, Abdo Chahine and Rasha Rizk.

It is a joint production with famous Japanese studio Toei Animation, and is directed by renowned international director Kobun Shizuno, who has directed anime hits including “Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle” and “Detective Conan.”

“The video will be featured in the region and worldwide to export our Saudi culture and historical stories from the Arabian Peninsula,” added CEO of Manga Productions, Dr. Essam Bukhari. “This will be the first of a number of videos that will be produced by Manga Productions and will be featured in cinemas in the Middle East and the world.

source: http://www.arabnews.com

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‘The Journey’ tells the story of Aws, a potter with a mysterious past who indulged in an epic battle in defense of his city. (SPA) / pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Egypt launches 1st Platform for Entrepreneurship in Middle East, N Africa (MENA) : February 2021

 The Ministry of Planning launched in cooperation with Facebook and Rise Up Foundation an interactive platform “SMB Business BOT” for entrepreneurship to support small and medium enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa.

Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said asserted the keenness of the ministry to provide mechanisms supporting the entrepreneurship thinking, saying the ministry is keen on establishing business incubators via “Rowad 2030” project that was launched by the ministry .

Facebook Managing Director in the Middle East and North Africa Ramez Shehadi said Facebook is committed to provide the tools that would enable small and medium enterprises push forward economic growth wheel, creating job opportunities and boosting local societies in Egypt,

The Founder of Rise Up Foundation Abdel Hamid Sharara said the Business BOT program will provide support needed by the different companies in the Middle East and North Africa. (MENA)

source: egypttoday.com

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Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said – Press photo / pix: egypttoday.com

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EGYPT

Sarah Al Amiri named in Time’s 2021 List of ‘Next 100 Most Influential People’ : 2021

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, has been named as one of Time’s 2021 list of the Next 100 Most Influential People in the World for successfully leading the UAE’s Hope Probe into Mars’ orbit, in the first-ever Arab interplanetary mission.

In addition to her work in sending the Arab world’s first spacecraft to Mars, Al Amiri is now ahead of bigger missions: to lead ambitious space and technology projects that contribute to the UAE’s bigger goal in establishing a knowledge-based economy. A lunar mission in 2024 and plans to build a human settlement on Mars by 2117 are among the ambitious projects that await the young minister who’s looking to promote research and development to create new industries as part of her role.

She took part in building the UAE’s first two satellites – DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, and the first entirely Emirati-made KhalifaSat.

She has been holding several responsibilities as the Chairwoman of the Emirates Scientists Council, Chairwoman of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Council and Chairwoman of the Dubai Future Academy Board of Trustees.

In 2017, she became the country’s first Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, a title that later changed in the latest cabinet reshuffle in August 2020 to the Minister of State for Advanced Technology. She was also then named the Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency.

In 2015, the World Economic Forum honoured her as one of its 50 Young Scientists for her contributions to science, technology and engineering.

She was also invited by the World Economic Forum to speak at Davos 2019 and became the first Emirati citizen to speak at an international TED event in 2017.

Mostly recently, she was selected in the BBC’s 100 Women 2020, a documentary that highlighted women leading change and making a difference during last year’s turbulent times.

source: wam.ae

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pix: wam.ae

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)