A search to identify and support the best thinkers in the Arab world began on Wednesday, with millions of dirhams in funding available.
Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, compared the Great Arab Minds project to the Nobel Prize.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives wants to identify intellectuals, researchers and professionals in fields including physics, maths, data science, economics and higher education.
Each year for five years, six of the brightest people will be given millions of dirhams in funding to support their work.
Tens of thousands of our youths emigrate looking for better opportunities - ignorance cost a loss of more than $2 trillion to the Arab world
Mohammed Al Gergawi,
Minister of Cabinet Affairs
The initiative comprises six categories: Natural Sciences (Physics and Chemistry), Medicine, Literature and Arts, Economics, Technology and Engineering, and Architecture and Design.
Applicants must be Arab or have made a contribution to the Arab world.
"Like the West have their Nobel Prize, we have the Arab Minds prize. This is our Nobel Prize," Mr Gergawi, who is also secretary general of MBRGI, said at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
Saeed Al Nazari, head of judging committee, said: “If you look at the region over the past 100 to 200 years, you will see that it has had a huge influence on the scientific scene worldwide.
"You can see that to date — Arabs have impacted technologies, science physics, you name it.
"This initiative recognises that and revives it. It will inspire people to think big and for the world to see their influence. This award is the biggest in the region.
“We are focusing on Arabs in the Arab world, but are also open to Arabs who have had a contribution and influence to the Arab world."
The committee will be overseen by global auditors KPMG.
Over the years, there has been a brain drain in the Arab world, with talent moving to the West, Mr Al Gergawi said.
"Tens of thousands of our youths emigrate looking for better opportunities — ignorance cost a loss of more than $2 trillion to the Arab world," he said.
Last year, a Dh100 million ($27.2m) fund was set up by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, for the initiative.
Museum of the Future will be used as a base for the programme, which will be overseen by four Cabinet ministers.
This month, the Arab Youth Survey results showed a strong desire among young people, particularly in North Africa and the Levant, to move abroad to escape cycles of poverty and joblessness.
The UAE was voted the best place to live in the survey, but the rest of the list comprised nations from outside the region including the US, Canada, France and Germany.
More than a third of young Arabs (35 per cent) say the rising cost of living and unemployment are the biggest obstacles facing the region, with unemployment next at 32 per cent.
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
