2012 Rolex Awards for enterprise announced

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise announced new laureates for its global philanthropy programme.

The laureates will receive funding and recognition for projects that advance knowledge in the fields of science, the environment and technology, helping to preserve precious eco-systems and benefit communities across the world.

They are:

* Sergei Bereznuk (Russia): Uusing technology and local community education to protect a highly vulnerable population of Amur tigers in the Russian Far East, currently threatened by poaching and damage to their ecosystem.

* Barbara Block (United States): Developing wired ocean hotspots along the West Coast of America to monitor the presence of marine predators, and ultimately to use innovative science to campaign for a large-scale marine protected area.

* Erika Cuéllar (Bolivia): Working in the Gran Chaco, the second-largest forest in South America after the Amazon, which crosses the borders of Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay, to train parabiologists amongst the local community to protect and conserve threatened wildlife.

* Mark Kendall (Australia): Working on the development of the needle-free 'nanopatch', to revolutionize delivery of vaccines in the developing world, making them cheaper and potentially saving the lives of millions of people who die from infectious diseases.

* Aggrey Otieno (Kenya): Building a telemedicine centre in Korogocho, a vast slum in Nairobi, to provide support and advice to birth attendants, using mobile telephones, to save the lives of mothers and newborn babies.

Each Laureate will receive 100,000 Swiss francs for his or her project.

The award was established in 1976 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster chronometer, one of the company's greatest contributions to the watch industry. Since then, it has been acclaimed internationally for pioneering work, and has supported 115 individuals from 42 different countries.

More than 3,500 people from 154 countries applied to the 2012 RAE. Distinguished jury members from diverse backgrounds selected the winners this year, in a two-year process. The Indians among the jury members in 2012 were Mahrukh Tarapor, Indian-born American museum professional and expert on the arts of India; Subramaniam Ramadorai, Vice Chairman, Tata Consultancy Services; and Gururaj Deshpande, global philanthropist.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Target tests if Facebook-driven deals bring shoppers into stores

HSBC fears 'significant' penalty in NRI tax evasion probe

iPhone helps Deutsche Telekom US customer numbers

China calls US the "real hacking empire" after Pentagon report