His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al- Khalifa has received, at Al-Sakhir Palace, HM the King’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who introduced the winners of the second King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. HM the King congratulated the award winners, hailing their dedicated efforts to empower youth who play a pivotal role in building nations and developing societies.
The laureates expressed deepest thanks to HM the King, hailing the royal initiative to support global youth, which provided them the opportunity to showcase their creations and innovative ideas towards achieving sustainable development goals.
Addressing the ceremony, HM the King said that the allocation of the award aims to celebrate youth efforts all over the world, encourage them to contribute to the development of their societies and the future of their countries for security, peace and prosperity to prevail in the world.
He stressed the vital importance of empowering youth who play an influential role in the future of nations, highlighting Bahrain’s national strides in this regard. He underlined the need to engage youth in nation-building and hone their responsible leadership skill and give them the opportunity to participate in decision-making for positive development to be achieved.
He congratulated the institutions and individuals who were declared award winners, hailing their tremendous and influential efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals which represent the cornerstone of the international agenda. He commended the cadres working with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and hailed their dedicated efforts, looking forward to their proposals to reach out to more youth and ensure their empowerment.
He praised the officials in charge of the award, citing particularly, the jury and administrative work teams, wishing them all success.
HM the King them honoured the jury members of the King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals:
1. Dr. Ahmed Dhuqan Al-Hindawi, former Jordan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Executive Director of Hindawi Group for Excellence, High Arbitration Committee member.
2. Said Mohammed A-Nadhari, UAE Federal Youth Authority director-general, High Arbitration Committee member.
3. Stefano Pettinato, UNDP Resident Representative to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Preliminary Arbitration Committee member.
4. No’aman Al-Sayyad, regional communication advisor, UNDP for the Arab States, Preliminary Arbitration Committee member.
5. Abdulmonam Mohammed, regional policies officer, UN environment, Preliminary Arbitration Committee member.
6. Amira Al-Hassan, UN Habitat for the GCC programme director, Preliminary Arbitration Committee member.
7. Hana Hamada, UNESCO public partnership specialist, Arabian Gulf office, Preliminary Arbitration Committee member.
8. Christina Mijou, UNDP Arab States policies, regional communication officer, Preliminary Arbitration Committee member
He also honoured the winners of the second King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The laureates are Dr. Raed Mohammed bin Shams, Bahrain Institute of Public Administration (BIPA), Elizabeth Elango Bintliff – Junior Achievement Africa, Ghana, David Medina Andrade – Fundación Qubo Soluciones Sociales Innovadoras, Colombia, Esse Okey, Nigeria, Kanal Samjhana, Nepal, and Bosire Brian, Kenya. HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al- Khalifa then presented HM the King with a commemorative gift on this occasion.
HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa delivered a speech congratulating on the success of the King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, which reflects Bahrain’s strides in empowering world youth and eliciting them to contribute to developing societies.
He praised the pioneering reform project, which was initiated by HM the King, stressing the importance of empowering Bahraini and world youth through initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable development. HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa said that the second King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals which attracted participants from 125 countries, submitting 3557 youth initiatives.