The Afkar Award

01

INTRO

The Afkar Award is an initiative aiming at locally sourcing creative ideas, engaging Yemeni youth between age 18-30 in a constructive process to create innovative start-ups and generate jobs. The award is being implemented by UNDP’s Youth Economic Empowerment Programme and ROWAD Entrepreneur Foundation with the support from the Governments of Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Silatech, Spark, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

SDGs

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

Methodolgies

Challenge Prizes, Crowdsourcing

Countries

Yemen

Funded

Yes

Start Date

2013

End Date

02

MULTIMEDIA

Partners

Ministry of Industry and Trade

The Government of Japan

The Government of the Netherlands

The Government of the Republic of Korea

ROWAD Entrepreneur Foundation

Silatech

Spark

More Projects

Quotes

“We believe that now ... it's time for the Arab nations to rise again through science and innovation."

Tamer Taha, Founder of Yomken

Human-centered design is a philosophy, not a precise set of methods, but one that assumes that innovation should start by getting close to users and observing their activities.

Donald A. Norman, Co, Founder of Nielsen Norman Group

The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you’re trying to design for. Leadership is exactly the same thing – building empathy for the people that you’re entrusted to help.

David Kelley, Founder of IDEO

We spend a lot time designing the bridge, but not enough time thinking about the people who are crossing it.

Dr. Prabhjot Singh, Director of Systems Design at the Earth Institute

It’s not ‘us versus them’ or even ‘us on behalf of them.’ For a design thinker it has to be ‘us with them'.

Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO

The agenda specifically recognizes youth as “critical agents of change”. To ensure the success of the 2030 Agenda, we need all young people on board - all of you, young activists, innovators, disruptors and trailblazers.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors

Failure is an option here. if things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors

If the government regulates against use of drones or stem cells or artificial intelligence, all that means is that the work and the research leave the borders of that country and go someplace else.

Peter Diamandis, Executive Chairman of the X Prize Foundation

The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.

Linus Pauling, American Chemist

We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we make progress.

Richard Feynman, Noble Prize Winning Physicist