Dubai: The World Government Summit has launched an exceptional edition of the ‘Best Minister Award’ to honour ministers who have made distinguished achievements serving humanity in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The award’s special edition has been launched under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Recognising value
Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit Organisation, said the development is “a reflection of His Highness’s vision and belief in the importance of honouring outstanding achievements and innovative practices, and highlighting those with exceptional ideas and their efforts to serve humanity”.
New paradigm
Al Gergawi said after more than a year has passed since the pandemic, “governments cannot continue working in traditional ways. They will need to focus on enhancing their readiness for future challenges by adopting the innovative concepts, and be proactive in all fields of work”.
Al Gergawi added that the summit represents the “ideal platform” for enhancing joint international cooperation to adopt methodologies “that meet the aspirations of societies”.
Criteria for the award
The evaluation criteria for the nomination of the award will consider the positive economic and social impacts, achievements and measurable results the nominee has achieved during his or her tenure, the level of innovation, and the creativity and leadership in the initiatives and programme launched by the nominee.
In line with its commitment to keeping the award impartial, the summit excluded UAE ministers from nominations.
Evaluating committee
The evaluating committee will include a selection of experts from international organisations, academia and the private sector, with efforts led by the World Government Summits Knowledge Partner, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).
Rami Nazer, Global Advisory Government and Public Services Leader at PwC, said: “In these unprecedented times, governments that have set a clear agenda to navigate this crisis are better prepared to anticipate, respond, manage and recover from this and future crises. the World Government Summit provides a unique global platform for government and non-government leaders to openly engage and explore our common and very much interdependent future.”
Previous winners
The award, first launched at the fourth edition of the summit in 2016, has been presented to four ministers in its previous chapters.
Greg Hunt, Minister of Environment, Acting Minister of Cities and Built Environment of Australia, won the first edition of the award for his efforts in reducing carbon emissions through innovative programmes.
Awa Marie Cole Seck, Minister of Health of the Republic of Senegal, won in the second edition for her role in tackling the spread of the deadly Ebola disease.
In its third round in 2018, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia, won the award after the success in reducing poverty rates in Indonesia and increasing job opportunities, which led to the reduction of the country’s debts by half.
As for the fourth edition of the award, organised in 2019, it was presented to Fayrouzuddin Fayrouz, Minister of Health of the Republic of Afghanistan, in recognition of his success by supervising the drive to vaccinate 9.5 million children against polio, creation of a health database, launch of Afghanistan’s National Health Strategy 2020, and his efforts in decreasing the mortality rate for children.
