RIYADH: The Princess Seetah bint Abdul Aziz Award for Excellence in Social Work have this year rewarded, ministries, businesses and individuals for initiatives to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The winners announced on Thursday included the education ministry for its distance learning app, which helped keep six million Saudi children learning through lockdown.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions the award ceremony sponsored by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be held virtually on Mar. 28.
“The award is keeping pace with the developments and changes taking place around the world,” said Princess Nouf bint Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Kabeer, head of the executive committee and member of the board of trustees for the awards.
This year’s awards focused on how the nominees made an impact during times of crises and the actions they took to help limit the turmoil from the pandemic.
The awards highlight five main branches of social service.
The winners were as follows:
Excellence in national achievement: Health ministry’s volunteering program and education ministry’s distance learning digital platform ‘Madrasti’ (my school)
Excellence in Islamic endowment: General Authority for Endowments for mitigating the effects of the virus on people through its humanitarian initiatives.
Excellence in social work: The Madinah Al-Munawarah’s NGO for its ‘The good city initiative.’
Excellence for social work entrepreneurs: Sheikh Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Subeai for setting up a charitable institution and donating money to various causes in the Kingdom during the pandemic.
Corporate social responsibility: Advanced Petrochemical Company for its initiatives during the pandemic and Sadara Chemical Company for its work with the health sector in tackling COVID-19.
The awards committee took more than four months to deliberate the winners and conducted extensive field visits to help them decide.
More than 400 projects were nominated, from which 137 made it to the assessment phase.
“Seventeen were then chosen to undergo the final judging phase, while seven of those were declared the winners of this year’s edition,” Fahd bin Hamad Al-Maghlouth, secretary general of the award, said.
“The award will continue to support and encourage humanitarian initiatives, programs and works that benefit society and the establishment of a competitive environment for the pioneers of social work,” Princess Nouf said.
“The award honors individuals and institutions that have distinguished themselves in social work. This stems from its belief in the importance and status of social work and encouraging, promoting and consolidating it in society.”
Established in 2012, the Princess Seetah awards aim to support excellence in social work both within the Kingdom or around the world.
The awards are named after Princess Seetah, who was known for her charitable work and social efforts to improve people’s lives. The award ceremony carries on her legacy through celebrating the work she inspired.
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