PRIZE STATUTE

Article I; Name of the Statute:

This Statute shall be termed “The Statute for AGFUND International Prize for Pioneering Development Projects”.

Article II; Definitions and Significance:

AGFUND : Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations.

The Prize: The AGFUND Prize.

The Statute: AGFUND Prize Statute.

The Bylaws: The bylaws of AGFUND Prize.

The President : The President of AGFUND.

The Committee of the Prize : a committee chaired by the President of AGFUND, in charge of supervising the award of the Prize.

Article III; Objectives of the Prize:

In order to consolidate the noble principles and values of AGFUND, derived from the teaching of Islam and the authentic Arab civilization, based on the firm commitment to endeavor to relief the pain and suffering of the human being, the Administrative Committee of AGFUND has decided to establish this prize for the achievement of the following objectives:

Supporting distinguished efforts aimed at developing and promoting the concepts and dimensions of sustainable human development.
Promoting developmental action on scientific bases that could help it achieve its objectives.
Highlighting and enhancing pioneering efforts in the developing countries, which aim at establishing distinguished non-governmental organizations that work towards a better future, in which social security, justice and equality prevail.
Contributing to the achievement of AGFUND strategic objectives.

Article IV; Supervision of the Prize:

The Prize is supervised by a Prize Committee, having the President of AGFUND as its Chairman and membership of a select number of distinguished international personalities concerned with development issues, in whose selection world geographical distribution is taken into consideration. The functions of the Committee shall be as follows:

Specification of the method under which the amounts of the Prize shall be distributed to each of its categories in every year.
Selection of the annual subjects of the Prize.
Selection of the winning projects in different categories of the Prize.
Selection of the arbitrators.

Article V; Categories of the Prize:

AGFUND Prize is classified into three categories, as follows:

First prize : this prize, amounting US$ 150,000.00 (one hundred and fifty thousand dollars), is for pioneering development projects implemented by UN, international and regional organizations,
Second prize : this prize, amounting US$ 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand dollars), is for pioneering development projects implemented by NGOs,
Third prize : this prize, amounting US$ 50,000.00 (fifty thousand dollars), is for pioneering development projects founded, sponsored and/ or implemented by individuals.

Article VI; Award and Withholding of the Prize:

The Prize shall be awarded annually to the projects selected as the winners of the Prize, under its different categories.
The Prize may be withheld in case that nominations are not of a standard sufficient to justify its award. The relevant funds shall then be carried over to the next year budget.

Article VII; Nomination for the prize:

Nomination for the Prize shall be made by regional, international and non-governmental organizations active in the fields of sustainable human development and by Arab and international universities and research centers.

Each of the following is considered qualified to be nominate for the Prize:

The pioneering projects implemented by UN, international or regional organizations.
The pioneering projects implemented by non-governmental organizations.
The pioneering projects founded, sponsored or implemented by individuals.

Article VIII; Evaluation of Nominations :

Nominations shall be evaluated by arbitrators specializing in the annual subjects of the Prize.
Arbitrators shall be of high experience in the fields of the Prize.
Evaluation of nominations shall, as specified in the Rules, be undertaken in accordance with a set of criteria for each category of the Prize.
Evaluation of nominations shall be undertaken in a strictly confidential manner.

Article IX; Announcement of the Prize:

The subjects of the Prize and the relevant nomination conditions and prerequisites shall be publicized in the proper media.

Article X; Budget of the Prize:

The annual budget of the Prize shall be US $ 300,000 (Three hundred thousand Dollars), and shall, at the discretion of the Prize Committee, be subdivided and distributed to the three Prize categories.
The Prize for each category shall consist of a financial reward designated to support the winners in the implementation of their pioneering projects, and of a trophy carrying the logo of AGFUND and the name of the Prize, and also of a certificate of recognition signed by the President of AGFUND, showing the name of the winning projects and a brief abstract of the concerned pioneering project.

Article XI; Financing of the Prize:

The Prize shall be financed from AGFUND resources.
The funds allocated for the Prize may be invested for the purpose of making the Prize self-financing.
Subventions and donations may be received on the approval of the President.

Article XII; Announcement of the Winning Projects:

AGFUND shall announce the winning projects, as approved by the Prize Committee, at a date at least one month before the date of the award ceremony.

Article XIII; Award of the Prize:

The Prize shall be awarded annually in a ceremony, to which representatives of the winning projects, experts and specialists in the field of development and prominent world personalities interested in development issues are invited.
The award ceremony of the Prize shall be organized under the patronage of the President of AGFUND, or his delegate.

Article XIV; Final Dispositions:

The present Statute shall enter into force on the date of endorsement by the Administrative Committee of AGFUND.
The Administrative Committee of AGFUND shall have the right to interpret this Statute.
The President shall release the Rules for implementing this Statute.