KAFD launches 6th edition of King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement

AMMAN — The King Abdullah II Fund for Development on Sunday launched the sixth edition of the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The launch of the award came as part of His Majesty King Abdullah’s support towards youth projects, their initiatives and pioneering ideas.

The award aims to harness youth energies, be an umbrella for creative Arab youth to work towards achieving positive change in their local communities, enhance active citizenship, guarantee its continuity among future generations and encourage young people to dialogue and overcome barriers between them.

It also seeks to provide support to Arab youth, improve their projects’ quality and impact on society, facilitate the exchange of expertise, urge them to engage in positive and fruitful competition, and spread the culture of initiative, giving and active citizenship among them.

The biennial award was presented to 41 male and female entrepreneurs from eight Arab countries over five cycles, providing about 85,000 direct and indirect entrepreneurial opportunities.

Qualified projects go through several stages before selecting the winner, starting with the process of evaluating and reviewing the applications based on their objectives, conditions, criteria and the selection of ideas and initiatives.

Then, accepted applications are submitted to a specialised technical committee which examines them according to criteria such as the goals of the initiative or project, budget, planning, the applicants’ experience and their leadership. 

In the final stages, finalists give a presentation on their project before the award winner is announced.

Those wishing to participate from all Arab countries will be able to apply for the award through www.kaayia.jo between May 15 and June 15.

Finalists will receive a training programme to enhance their qualifications, while winners will receive a financial support of $50,000 to develop their community, entrepreneurial project.