King Khalid awards go to development projects

RIYADH: The winners of the King Khalid Awards were announced here ON Thursday. They included several organizations and individuals operating nonprofit development projects across the country.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman will hand out the prizes worth SR1.5 million on Dec. 8 at a gala event in the capital, according to Asir Gov. Prince Faisal bin Khalid, chairman of the awards committee.
At a press conference here on Thursday, Prince Faisal said the awards honored Saudi citizens involved in initiatives to build their communities. He said Abeer Abdul Aziz Al-Nuwaiser won by 61 percent of votes to take first place for her development project “Mawakib Al-Ajr.”
Second place went to Ahmed Zayed Al-Maliki for his initiative to help people with disabilities find jobs. He received 22 percent of the votes. He runs a website that matches firms with those seeking jobs.
Saud bin Hamad Al-Dubayan received 17 percent of votes for third place for his online awareness initiative that publishes Arabic articles and videos in several scientific disciplines.
According to Prince Faisal, the first place winner in the development section, with a prize of SR500,000 went to Al-Bir Society in Al-Ahsa, which offers health and special needs services for 35,000 people.
The second place winner of SR300,000 went to the Charitable Society for the Care of Orphans in the Eastern Province serving 2,379 beneficiaries; and third place, winning SR200,000, went to Majed bin Abdulaziz Society for Development and Social Services in Jeddah, serving 1,484 people.
According to Prince Faisal, two employees working for the winner in this category would get fully paid scholarships on leadership and management development for nonprofit organizations.
The winners of the category for best sustainable development practices and social responsibility, were in first place Binzagr Unilever Limited (Saudi Arabia), a nonprofit facility operating in the field of consumer products to reduce the impact of production and consumption on the environment.
Second place went to Saudi Investment Bank, while third place was shared by Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Company, Special Direction, and the Middle East Company for Paper Industry.
Prince Faisal said that the aim of the awards was to support individuals and organizations that were doing innovative work to develop the country across a wide range of sectors.