‘UAE Drones for Good Award' organizes celebration for semi-finalists

• Event to see live demonstrations by 39 contestants of National, International and Government competitions

Dubai, February 3, 2015: The Organizing Committee of ‘The UAE Drones for Good Award’, launched by the UAE Government during the second Government Summit last February, announced that it will organize a special event to celebrate 39 projects which have qualified to the semi-finals stage at the National, International and Government competitions of the award.

The Committee said the ceremony, which will take place on February 6 and 7, 2015, will provide an opportunity forthe contestants to conduct live demonstrations of their projects, and showcase their innovative designs in dedicated places allocated to each participant.

The event will serve as a platform for interaction between owners of innovative projects and various business entities and incubators, who can use the two-day event as an opportunity to finance some of the projects,which are aimed at improving services provided to society.

A knowledge conference will be held as part of the event with international experts sharing their experiences and experiments on the latest advances in the drones sector.On the occasion, they will also reveal their expectations about future development process and the priorities for this sector.

Saif Al Aleeli, Project Manager of the UAE Drones for Good Award at the UAE Prime Minister's Office, said the awardattracted huge participation and interaction from all over the world. The award embodies the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who launched the leading international award in line with UAE’s strategy to promote innovation in technology sector and enhance UAE’sleadership in using civilian drone technology, Al Aleeli said.

The UAE government is organizing the event as a part of its efforts to encourage innovation and creative ideas, and to motivate owners of innovative projects to make optimal use of technology to serve humanity and create happiness in the community, Al Aleeli added.

He also explained that the ‘UAE Drones for Good Award’ provides a unique opportunity to win prize money worth of AED 4.67 million (US$1 million for International Competition and AED 1 million for National Competition).The award will enable participants to introduce their projects to specialists, investors and heads of business incubators to discuss opportunities of converting their ideas into real-value commercial projects, making the final competitions of the award a platform of innovation and entrepreneurship, Al Aleeli said.

“DIC is the headline sponsor and the host of the Drones for Good Awards 2015 which will be held at the DIC amphitheatre,” said Majed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource Zone.

“DIC has been at the forefront of driving the vision of H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in leading the innovation driven economy. In line with his vision, new projects introduced to ignite innovation are currently underway at TECOM which will establish a global powerhouse for innovation and content across all industries,” Al Suwaidi added.

‘The UAE Drones for Good Award’ has received more than 800 local, Arab and international entries, confirming the positive response and global demand for the UAE government initiative that aims to make optimal use of technology to serve humanity and create happiness in the community.

The qualifying projects tothe semi-finals stage of the award were subject to evaluationin three categories basedon key criteria such as the innovative ideasaddedvalue, low cost and efficiency.

The Drones for Good Award aims to harness the technology of unmanned aircraft to improve the lives of people, whether in the UAE or anywhere in the world. It aims to design a legislative structure to provide services through advanced technology such as unmanned aircraft in the areas of serving humanity.