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Best Picks – A welcome initiative by Rolex
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Best Picks – A welcome initiative by Rolex

Sunday, 02 May 2010
By The FHH Journal editors
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The FHH Journal editors

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3 min read

If you’re young and straining at the leash to put your business ideas into action, the chances of getting a bank to back you are low. If you’re young and straining at the leash to put your business ideas into action, the chances of getting a state organisation to back you are low. This still leaves venture-capitalists, but they usually only bet on companies in the high-tech segment. What, then, are the options for young social entrepreneurs: a name that doesn’t automatically spring to mind: Rolex.

“Rolex is delighted to support these exceptional young men and women who represent the best of their generation,” said Rebecca Irvin, director of philanthropy at Rolex. “In tackling the problems that face humanity, they do not think in traditional ways or stick to old ideas. Their innovative projects have begun to have a profound effect on their own communities and potentially could improve the lives of millions of people.”

 

The Young Laureates Programme honours men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 with inventive ideas.

To encourage these young people, Rolex has launched the Young Laureates Programme, an expansion of the longstanding Rolex Awards for Enterprise, which recently recognised the achievements of “five pioneers who are ready to change the world.” In mid-April, five visionaries from Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines and the United States were chosen from a pool of nearly 200 candidates worldwide. Says Rolex, “The Young Laureates Programme honours men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 with inventive ideas. Each Young Laureate will receive US$ 50,000 over the course of two years. During the first year, funding of $25,000 will give the recipients time to focus on their pioneering projects, while the second instalment will help them move forward in implementing them. The Rolex Awards international network of innovators, comprised mainly of former Laureates, is available to help the winners take the projects to another stage.” Which is the least we can hope. Best wishes for these projects that are working to make the world a better place.

The Young Laureates:
Jacob Colker, 26, United States – is changing the way people get involved in community service. His internet-based programme allows volunteers to use their smartphones to donate spare minutes to charitable and scientific organizations.
Reese Fernandez, 25, Philippines – is committed to alleviating poverty by training people to become social entrepreneurs. Her Rags2Riches enterprise has already empowered hundreds of women to earn a living by turning scrap materials into elegant fashion accessories.
Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, 27, Nigeria – intends to boost the living standards of millions of Nigerian farmers through his interactive, mobile radio network. Hundreds of thousands of rural listeners are already receiving and exchanging information on sustainable farming practices and health issues.
Piyush Tewari, 29, India – has set up a foundation to train a network of police officers and volunteers to respond quickly to road accidents and administer rapid medical care. By providing immediate assistance to victims, he hopes to stem the thousands of fatalities that occur on Indian roads each year.
Bruktawit Tigabu, 28, Ethiopia – is building on the success of a television programme on health that she and her husband are producing for preschool children and their parents.

The awards will be presented on November 11th, 2010, at the Rolex Learning Center, a knowledge hub within the prestigious École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), a leading institution for technology and computer science. Experts in the relevant fields, including many former Laureates, will be guests at the ceremony.

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