Petaling Jaya: More Asians are being urged to apply for the Rolex Awards for Enterprise as they now only make up about 20% of the 2,000 applicants each time the competition is held.
Rebecca Irvin, head of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, said she would like to see the numbers go up as the majority of the applications come in from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the United States.
“There has been relatively few from Asia and we want that change particularly because we would be holding our main award ceremony in Asia (next year).
“A Malaysian became one of five laureates for the 1984 awards for his unique asparagus project in Sabah,” she said in a phone interview from Geneva recently.
Irvin hoped that more Asians with innovative ideas on groundbreaking projects would come forward to participate in the 2006 Rolex Awards for Enterprise and the deadline is at the end of this month.
The award aims at giving enterprising men and women around the world the financial support and recognition they need to succeed in pioneering concepts and innovative projects and “anyone of any age or background can participate,” Irvin added.
“In each series, the judging panel selects five laureates, those who present the most exceptional projects and meet the stringent criteria,” she said, adding that projects must fall into one of five categories – Science and Medicine, Technology, Environment, Exploration and Preservation of Cultural Heritage.
Created in 1976, the award was first launched in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster and awards five outstanding individuals with US$100,000 and a personally inscribed gold Rolex chronometer.
They will also be invited as a guest of Rolex to the official awards ceremony to be held in Singapore in October next year.
Further information is available at www.rolexawards.com

Photo :Rebecca Irvin, head of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Source : The Star Online