Rolex announces first Middle East Laureate in history among winners of 2008 Awards for Enterprise

The award recipients hail from around the globe - from India, Jordan, Mexico, Paraguay, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States - and join a global network of 110 visionaries from 40 countries who have received vital project support and recognition from the Swiss watchmaker since the Awards were founded in 1976.

This is the first time in the programme's history that a Laureate has been chosen from the Middle East, and follows intensive outreach and activity by Rolex in the region.

The Rolex Awards fund new and ongoing projects that demonstrate a spirit of enterprise and address pressing needs around the world, from climate change, to wildlife and habitat preservation, to cultural preservation, to providing water, food, medical supplies and education for impoverished communities.

Rolex will present $100,000 each to five Laureates, who will be honoured tomorrow evening (18 November) in a ceremony in Dubai - the first ever Rolex Awards ceremony held in the Middle East.

Five Associate Laureates will each receive $50,000 at ceremonies in their home countries. All ten winners will also receive a Rolex chronometer.

The Rolex Awards are being held in the Middle East under the patronage of HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

"The Rolex Awards for Enterprise enable the work of global pioneers who are breaking new ground in their fields, and improving lives worldwide,"

said Patrick Heiniger, Chief Executive Officer of Rolex.

"We are proud to support these truly original thinkers, and salute them for their ingenuity and commitment of purpose."

The 2008 Rolex Laureates - chosen from nearly 1,500 applicants in 127 countries by an independent panel of scientists, educators, economists and other experts - are:

•Talal Akasheh (Jordan), 61, who, after devoting 26 years to documenting the ancient monuments of Petra, is creating an information system that will inform future conservation efforts at this beloved, yet threatened, historic site.
•Tim Bauer (U.S.), 31, who is using innovative technology to retrofit polluting two-stroke vehicle engines that are common in the Philippines, helping to alleviate a major environmental and public-health risk.
•Andrew McGonigle (U.K.), 35, a physicist who is developing a new means to safely and reliably predict volcanic eruptions using an unmanned aircraft.
•Andrew Muir (South Africa), 43, a conservationist providing Aids orphans with life skills, training, and jobs in South Africa's burgeoning ecotourism sector.
•Elsa Zaldívar (Paraguay), 48, who is bringing an eco-friendly solution to her country's housing shortage by creating composite building materials made of plant and plastic waste to construct affordable housing.

Dr. Akasheh, a chemistry professor at the Hashemite University of Jordan, and its former Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, said the money from the Rolex Awards would go towards hiring additional staff to complete the geo-archaeological information system and its database.

"I am extremely honored to receive this prestigious international award, which is not just for me but for all of Jordan and the Arab world, and for all who care about Petra," Akasheh said.

"The most important part of this award is that it will lead to other sources of support for the giant job of preserving this beautiful, important place."

The Rolex Award will help complete the most thorough documentation of the site since its rediscovery in 1912 and will help build archaeological and scientific capacity in Jordan, he added.

Akasheh thanked the Rolex Awards for their sustained outreach to individuals, NGOs, academia and governments across the region over the last year.

Rebecca Irvin, Director of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, said:

"We are very pleased today to welcome the first Rolex Awards Laureate from the Middle East among our 2008 winners. Given the Arab world's long-standing tradition of innovation and scientific discovery and its rich cultural heritage, we were convinced that the region could be home to a significant number of potential candidates, and we are delighted to include one among our ranks of Laureates this year. We look forward to increasing our involvement in the region in the future."

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise week in the UAE ends on Wednesday (November 19) with the Rolex Middle East Forum: Encouraging Innovation for the Next Generation, an interactive series of panel discussions featuring some of the world's leading explorers, scientists and leaders in environment and heritage.

The Forum, a public event moderated by Hala Gorani of CNN International and Arab media personality Georges Kordahi, will be held at the Madinat Theatre in association with the UAE Higher Colleges of Technology and under the patronage of HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.