The AGFUND International Prize for Pioneering Human Development Projects

Your Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz Bin Tala Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
representing His Royal Highness Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud;
Members of the Prize Committee;
His Excellency, Ambassador Bucheeri;
His Excellency, Ambassador Adel Almahri;
Dear Prize Winners;
Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to welcome you to today’s event and transmit to you a special greeting from Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. The Director-General regrets very much that he cannot be here with us today and asked me to deliver the following message on his behalf and I quote:

“It is my great pleasure to welcome back to the Palais des Nations the Arab Gulf Programme for Development and its International Prize for Pioneering Human Development Projects. This morning’s event is a celebration of innovation and creativity in the service of the most vulnerable among us. I would like to thank His Royal Highness Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud for his high patronage of countless humanitarian efforts and development projects around the world. Special thanks to the Permanent Delegation of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf for making this ceremony possible.

I am particularly pleased to host this event because I believe that the AGFUND Prize contributes in three ways to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, our collective roadmap to a safer, fairer and more sustainable world. First, this prize rewards programs that address the factors preventing development, especially those harming our most vulnerable populations: women, children, refugees and migrants. This focus on prevention and universality is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Second, the prize focuses on creative solutions, recognizing that we cannot tackle the challenges of tomorrow with the tools of the past. It promotes the sharing of information and best practices that is so essential to meeting the ambitious SDGs. Finally, the prize’s four categories – international organizations, NGOs, governments and individuals – is recognition that sustainable development is not solely the responsibility of governments or international organizations. We – all of us – have a role to play in meeting the SDGs. Success will depend on our ability to look beyond bureaucratic divides to forge new partnerships that include the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders.

These shared principles bind the AGFUND Prize to the SDGs and make it particularly fitting that this year the ceremony takes place in Geneva. With its unparalleled human capital and institutional know-how, Geneva is the operational hub for the international system and a place conducive to reflection, innovation and collaboration on the SDGs.

In closing, I would like to congratulate all those nominated for the AGFUND Prize and wish you all a wonderful event.”

This is the end of the Director-General’s message.

Thank you.