Government

The UAE Drones for Good Award launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during the second Government Summit last February, has received more than 800 local, Arab and international entries, confirming the positive response and global demand for the UAE government initiative that aims to make optimal use of technology to serve humanity and create happiness in the community.

The award received submissions from 57 countries around the world led by Spain with 62 entries, followed by the United States with 47 and India with 34 entries. Among the Arab countries, Saudi Arabia topped the list with 18 entries, which is followed by Egypt with 8 entries.

His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, praised the global response to the UAE Drones for Good Award, stating that the number of quality entries highlights the success of the Award in promoting innovation around the world. It has also encouraged the use of technology to create happiness in the society and improve peoples lives, H.E. Al Gergawi said. The UAE Drones for Good Award has become the leading international award and embodies the vision of Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the optimum use of modern technology to serve humanity, H.E. Al Gergawi added.

H.E. Al Gergawi said the global response to the award also reflects the successful efforts of the UAE government in meeting the requirements of future governments by providing exceptional solutions focused on innovation and the use of technology for civil and peaceful means.

The UAE government has always been the first to launch initiatives that keep pace with global changes and has harnessed creativity and innovation to serve humanity, identifying them as the real wealth of developed societies, H.E. Al Gergawi said.

H.E. Al Gergawi commended the creative level of the projects received, and the volume of entries from global educational institutions, which included quality ideas in content as well as application in various fields. H.E. Al Gergawi pointed out that the entries focused on critical areas of relevance to daily human life and have the potential to contribute to improved services in areas such as health, education, civil defense, transport and communications, as well as government services, natural disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance. The award is also expected to significantly contribute to reduced costs of many services as well as their increased efficiency.

Entries from continents

Among the main sectors covered by the entries in the international competition of the award, relief services topped the list, accounting for 20 per cent of the entries. Civil defense services ranked second accounting for 15 per cent, followed by economic development and the environment at 14 per cent, respectively, and logistics accounting for 13 per cent.

The substantial number of entries providing services in the health sector made it 11 per cent of the entries. Up to 9 per cent of the entries were related to the field of humanitarian services, while 4 per cent were focused on education.

Among countries, Colombia and Poland contributed 15 projects each, and the United Kingdom 11 projects, whereas Australia, Austria, Brazil, Pakistan and Egypt each had 8 entries. Canada and Chile contributed with 7 entries each.

The semi-final qualifiers

The list of participating countries includes Azerbaijan, Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and South Korea from Asia, while Algeria, Egypt, Libya, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tunisia constituted the countries from Africa.

The European entries were from Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and Turkey.

From South America, entries came from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. Entries from Central America were from Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Posts were also from the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

At the global level, the award has received 154 entries from educational institutions with strong presence from the UAE universities, as well as international universities such as MIT, Stanford, and the University of Sanjulata.

The winners of the award will be announced in February 2015 based on the results of live demonstrations by qualifiers of the semi-final stage in front of the panel of judges.

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