Richard Branson pitches for UAE energy prize

In a widely viewed YouTube video, the chairman of the Virgin Group appeals to businesses and organisations to sign up for the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

Princess Beatrice of Britain, left, tours Masdar City with Dr Nawal Al Hosany, the director of the Zayed Future Energy Prize. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court – Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI // “I’m Richard Branson and I really want you to submit for the Zayed Future Energy Prize.”

So goes the opening remarks of the British tycoon’s minute-long video to attract high-school students to register for the UAE’s global environment award this year.

In the clip, the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group and member of the prize jury asked budding scientists and inventors to submit ideas, saying that could win them prizes that would enable them to turn their ideas into reality.

The video was posted on YouTube last month and has been viewed by more than 39,000 people.

It was a first in the jury’s efforts to gain the attention of prospective entrants from around the world, said Dr Nawal Al Hosany, the competition’s director. A similar video that features Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Iceland’s president and chairman of the jury, will be released shortly.

The environmental award – which was launched and managed by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s clean-energy company – also honours small-and-medium-sized firms, large corporations, individuals, research institutes and non-governmental organisations with a proven track record in adopting clean-energy and energy-efficiency measures.

Last year, 552 submissions from 88 countries were received, and the award organisers are trying to raise its profile among clean-energy innovators, according to Dr Al Hosany.

The actions of previous winners had been helping to promote the prize and influencing the adoption of clean-energy solutions, she said.

“The work championed by our winners has been amplified several times over since winning the prize,” she said.

“The prize has given them the recognition and funding needed to catalyse impact on millions across the world.”

Bangladeshi Dipal Barua who won US$1.5 million (Dh5.5m) in 2009 was one such example, said Dr Al Hosany.

Mr Barua has since launched a Zayed Future Energy Prize scholarship for women that has trained about 1,000 female environmental technicians.

The UAE award is also getting an influential new jury member in Kathy Calvin, the president and chief executive of the United Nations Foundation.

In 2011, she was named one of the “150 Women Who Rock the World” by Newsweek magazine.

“She is a passionate advocate for multi-sector problem-solving, US leadership on global issues, and the inclusion of women at all levels and in all sectors,” said Dr Al Hosany.

Registration for the prize closes on July 14. The winners, who will share a $4m prize pot, will be announced in January during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.