At the conclusion of the International Forum for Entrepreneurship and Investment, the winner of the second edition of the "Arab Rally" competition, which was held within the activities of Expo 2020 Dubai, was announced, Organized by the Union of Arab Chambers and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the United Arab Emirates in partnership and cooperation with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The closing ceremony was attended by the President of the Union of Arab Chambers, President of the Federation of Emirates Chambers, and the President of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Muhammad Al Mazrouei, and the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Ismail Abdel Ghaffar, and the Head of the UNIDO Investment and Technology Office in Bahrain, Dr. Hashem Hussein.
The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, announced the winning names in the first three places of the competition, where the Syrian team won first place, the Palestinian team ranked second, while the Lebanese team won third place.
Hanafi spoke, emphasizing that youth are the agent of change, and that the desired Arab change needs the hands of its youth, the Union of Arab Chambers, as a representative of the Arab private sector, took the initiative, in cooperation with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, and the UNIDO Office for Investment and Promotion Technology in Bahrain, to launch the "Arab Rally for Entrepreneurship 2019" competition, with the aim of developing the spirit of innovation and leadership among Arab youth.
He stressed that the aim of the Union of Arab Chambers in launching the competition and award was to open a wide space for the participation of all young people in Arab countries, link them to the needs of the labor market and create more job opportunities in preparation for contributing to sustainable development in the Arab region.
Also delivered were speeches by: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport Ismail Abdel Ghaffar, and Head of the UNIDO Investment and Technology Office in Bahrain Dr. Hashem Hussein.
The idea of the "Rally" focuses on selecting the youth component between the ages of 18 and 30 years, as half of the participants in the teams competing in the competition are supposed to be university students and the other half are graduates. Several teams from 14 Arab countries submitted to participate in the competition: Egypt, Mauritania, Libya, Jordan, Bahrain, Sultanate of Oman, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
The projects of the participating teams focused on innovation in technology, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as in renewable energy, traditional energy, and agricultural technology. This competition will help young people to transform their innovative project ideas into market-based entities represented by major companies.
