CAIRO: Raghda El-Ebrashi, chairperson of Egyptian NGO Alashanek Ya Balady, received the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement 2009. El-Ebrashi received the award during the closing ceremony of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Amman last weekend. "This award means a lot to me, because it is not just an award; it is the first award given from an Arab country. All the awards I received were from European, American, and Asian countries. This is the first Arab initiative to recognize social innovators in the region, El-Ebrashi told Daily News Egypt. "With the announcement of the winners of the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement, we are celebrating the incredible potential and innovative spirit that young people throughout our region possess, while also recognizing the significant role that youth play throughout the Arab world, and beyond, in positively contributing to sustainable development and the betterment of society as a whole, Tarik Awad, director-general of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development, told the press. Alashanek Ya Balady began as a community service club at the American University in Cairo in 2002. After graduating, El-Ebrashi turned it into an active NGO that caters to the society as a whole. For the less privileged, the NGO utilizes the donations it collects to finance its micro-credit program, as well as education projects. Under its Youth Leadership Initiative the organization also offers workshops provided by multinational corporations in fields such as marketing and management. In this program, students pay fees that are later used to fund other programs at the organization. This is not the first time El-Ebrashi and Alashanek Ya Balady were recognized internationally. In 2007 she was presented with the 35 Under 35 Award by World Business magazine and Shell Corporation which recognizes the world's top 35 business and social female entrepreneurs under the age of 35. She was also named by the United Nations Development Program as one of the 100 Leading Social Entrepreneurs under the age of 30 worldwide and last November she was also named one of the 20 YouthActionNet Global Fellows for 2008-2009. El-Ebrashi is among four winners who were awarded by his Majesty King Abdullah II in recognition of the innovative projects they initiated to develop their communities. The three other winners are Abdel-Kareem Bedri, 22, from Sudan; Lana Hijazi, 27, from Palestine and Rabee Zureikat, 29 from Jordan. The winners were selected from over 500 entries from the Arab world. Each will receive a $50,000 grant to expand the scope of their work, and to support complementary training and capacity building opportunities. The King Abdullah award was first introduced at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in 2007 with the aim of recognizing conscious youth citizens across the region that are engaged in exemplary activities related to active citizenship. It also aims at enhancing the culture of research and development to increase the impact of change in community led development, generate best practices and encourage cross-border cooperation and dialogue. Ten finalists were interviewed in Amman last month by a panel which included Fadi Ghandour from Jordan, founder and CEO of Aramex International; Iman Bibars from Egypt, regional director of Ashoka - Arab World; Nabil Alyousuf from the United Arab Emirates, vice chairman of the Dubai School of Government; Suhair Al-Qurashi from Saudi Arabia, dean of Dar Al-Hekma College; and Ziad Haddara from Lebanon, regional manager of ICTDAR, UNDP
