Kuwait City, October 10, 2023 – The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) has announced that over 33 nominations from over 10 countries have been received for the 2023 Al-Sumait Prize for African Development in its Education Category, which closed for nominations on the 30th September.
The nominations received comprised of prominent individuals, institutes, organizations and NGO’s working to develop and promote education as a main vehicle to drive socio-economic development in Africa.
The nominee’s dossiers will be reviewed and screened by a panel of experts in Kuwait to ensure that all applicants fulfil the basic requirements of the prize and then a short list of potential laureates will be produced. The final evaluation stage is entrusted to a Selection Panel composed of prominent international experts in the field, which will meet to study the shortlisted cases and reports of the evaluation team they will then recommend winner(s) of the Prize to the Board of Trustees.
The eventual winner(s) of the prize will be selected by the Al-Sumait Board of Trustees, which comprises prominent international personalities in the field of development in Africa and world-renowned philanthropists. The Board is chaired by His Excellency Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait.
Other trustees include Mr Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Kwaku Aning, Deputy Director General and Head of Department at the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Mr Abdulatif Al- Hamad, Director General and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
Announced by the late Amir of the State of Kuwait, H.H. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in November 2013 at the 3rd Arab African Summit, the aim of Al-Sumait Prize is to contribute significantly to solve major development challenges facing African nations. The prize celebrates the life of the late Dr Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, a Kuwaiti physician who devoted his life towards helping the poor in Africa.