One week left to apply for King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement

Interested applicants can visit KAAYIA's website by February 28th, 2009 to apply for the award and the opportunity to receive a grant.

Until today, over 1290 youth from 19 Arab nations have applied for the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement (KAAYIA), which strives to recognize, celebrate and support young Arab citizens who are Active Citizens in their communities.

Tarik Awad, Director-General of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), stated:

"With one week left, Arab youth throughout the region still have an opportunity to apply for the award in order to be recognised and rewarded for the good work they have done in their community."

Mr. Awad went on to say, "We have already received a considerable number of applications for some truly amazing projects from across the region, which has re-affirmed our strong belief in the talent, creativity and innovation that our youth possess."

The King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement (KAAYIA) was launched by His Majesty King Abdullah II at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in 2007 with the aim of recognizing youth across the region that are engaged in exemplary activities related to Active Citizenship.

To be eligible to apply for the award, the project must be initiated and executed by youth from an Arab country who are between the ages of 18-29. The project should have been fully functional and operational for at least six months with a demonstrated impact on their respective communities and societies. Each application will be evaluated based on three key criteria including a demonstration of leadership and innovation, collaboration and partnership, and impact and sustainability of the project.

The evaluation process will take place from March 1st until April 5th, 2009, with the award winners being announced at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, which will be held at the Dead Sea, Jordan on May 15th-17th 2009. Each winner will receive a grant, a portion of which will be provided as a two-year monetary grant and the other portion will be provided for the award winners to pursue educational or training opportunities.