Five visionaries aged under 30 from Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines and the United States have been selected as the Young Laureates in the inaugural Rolex Awards for Enterprise: Your Laureates Programme, Rolex announced at a press conference in Geneva.
Chosen from a pool of nearly 200 candidates worldwide by an international jury of experts, these outstanding social entrepreneurs impressed the judging panel with their passion and conviction to overcome challenges in the areas of science and health, applied technology, exploration, the environment and cultural preservation.
The Rolex Laureates are:
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 sustrainable faming 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 medial 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.
Source: Rolex
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