RIYADH — Emir of Asir Prince Faisal Bin Khalid, who is the chairman of King Khalid Award committee, announced the winners of the award for 2018 at a press conference held at the foundation headquarters in Riyadh.

In a speech on the occasion, Prince Faisal said King Khalid Foundation embraced prosperity by activating the role of the development partners, as well as empowering them through social investment and building capabilities to ensure the emergence of a Saudi community with equal opportunities, and where its organizations and individuals seek an effective contribution in building it. Based on this principle, King Khalid Award emerged, with its three branches: Development Partners, Nonprofit Excellence and Responsible Competitiveness.

During the press conference, Prince Faisal announced that Alhasalah initiative founded by Saad Al-Hamoudi won the first place of King Khalid Development Partners Award.

The winners were chosen by a mass e-mail voting mechanism through the King Khalid Foundation’s website. The Alhasalah initiative got 42 percent of the total votes received by the finalists. The initiative was launched in 2009 aiming to raise awareness toward money management in terms of consuming, saving and investing.

The Adam Campaign initiative by Shahid Al-Muqbil came second with 29 percent of the votes. The initiative was launched in 2014

as an educational awareness campaign targeting the community in general and the young people, in particular, and aiming to reduce the frequency of racism and reduce the extreme practices in order to create an inclusive and peaceful society.

My Book Club founded by Owaied Alsubaie came third with 27 percent of the votes. It is a voluntary initiative launched in 2013 and aims to build a knowledgeable and educated society through spreading the culture of reading among all members of society. The total value of the Development Partners Award was half a million Saudi riyals. The first place winner will get SR250,000, the second place winner SR150,000, and the third place winner SR100,000.

Prince Faisal also announced the names of the winning associations in the Nonprofit Excellence Award, which is awarded to nonprofit organizations registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. This branch of the award focuses on improving managerial performance of nonprofits in the Kingdom to be reflected positively on the quality of services provided to their beneficiaries. The first place in the category was won by Al-Kawther Health Charity for its excellence in modern management practices, clarity of the organization’s strategy and integrated management systems. The prize is worth SR500,000.

The family development association Osrati in Madinah won the second prize of SR300,000 in view of its excellence in administrative work and the best employment of technology, as well as adopting a clear vision in measuring performance.

The First Women’s Charitable Association in Jeddah came third in recognition of the excellence of its strategic objectives that reflected its mission and vision clearly, as well as for the diversity in the ages of the members of its board of directors and of the administrative management of human resources through motivational programs for staff development. The prize was worth SR200,000.

While the award for the Responsible Competitiveness branch went to Saudi Huawei Company, and the National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET) came second and United Doctors Hospital came third.

This award is granted to the entities that excelled in the field of sustainability, where it aims to encourage private entities adopt leading practices in the area of responsible competitiveness and to activate the role of the private sector in the development of society.

Prince Faisal congratulated the winners of this year’s awards and wished that they continue their hard work to achieve more successes and achievements.

He concluded by saying: “We are proud to see our country advancing today at all levels with confidence and determination, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince.

“This ambitious trend is fraught with challenges and obstacles that all sectors must unite and cooperate to overcome. However, what makes us confident that we are able to make successes and achieve the goals that we work for, where our wise leadership has stated the goals and set out a roadmap for economic growth, social development and humanitarian work in our country. Thus came the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which set the path toward these goals and blessed targets.”

Prince Kahlid praised the Saudi media contributions in the delivery of the humanitarian message of the King Khalid Foundation. — SG