Fund offers big prizes for children’s projects |22 May 2013

The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) is inviting United Nations, international and regional organisations, national non-governmental organisations, governmental agencies, universities, experts in the field and research centres to nominate “pioneering development projects for the AGFUND Prize 2013 in the field of fighting the phenomenon of street children”.

The invitation is open to all regions of the world and the fund is calling on organisations and individuals who might be interested to vie for the prizes which range from US $50,000 to US $200,000.
 
The organisation’s aim is to support human development efforts targeting the neediest and disadvantaged groups particularly women and children in developing countries, without any discrimination as to sex, creed or political affiliation.

The nomination form can be downloaded from AGFUND website www.agfund.org / www.agfundprize.org, the fund says in its call for submissions.

Its website says the organisation is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was established in 1980 at the initiative of Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud with the support of leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Qatar, Sultanate of Oman and the State of Kuwait.

“The AGFUND works mainly in the field of development and growth at the international level through an effective partnership with the United Nations with regional and national development organisations, public institutions, the private sector and civil society,” it says.

Since its foundation, AGFUND has financed 1,268 projects in 133 developing countries. Nearly 952 projects have been completed and 316 are under construction and implementation.
US $200,000 is on offer for projects that will support the role of the UN and international organisations in supporting the developing countries' national policies to fight the phenomenon of street children.

For a second category, a US $150,000 prize will go to the author of a project involving a non-governmental organisation-led effort in implementing pioneering projects for training, rehabilitation and social integration of street children.

The third category offers US $100,000 for a programme involving a government agency playing a role in designing and implementing pioneering programmes reflecting the legislation aiming at curtailing the phenomenon of street children.

The final category offers US $50,000 for a project that can be led by individuals allowing for street children rehabilitation and social integration.

Nominations for the prize can be sent to AGFUND Prize Secretariat at PO Box 18371 Riyadh 11415 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or e-mailed to rewards@agfund.org.

More information and nomination documents can be obtained from AGFUND websites www.agfund.org / www.agfundprize.org. The deadline after which no nominations will be accepted is June 30, 2013.

“Projects nominated for the prize shall be evaluated with extreme fairness and clarity by experts chosen according to their specialisations and experience. The prize committee is composed of a number of prominent international figures who represent the geographical regions of the world,” says AGFUND in their invitation.

“The committee holds an annual meeting in which it discusses the evaluation results and selects the winning projects. The prize is handed over in an annual ceremony attended by the representatives of the local and international organisations, development experts, diplomats and the media,” it says.