Rolex Names Winners of Global Enterprise Awards in Commemorative Year

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

A polar scientist, a robotic suit designer and an eye specialist who wants to save millions of people from going blind are among 10 innovators from around the world who have won Rolex Awards in the 40th anniversary year of the programme. Other winners have projects as diverse as technology to stop hunger and conservation initiatives to save species and habitats.

The 10 Laureates and Young Laureates will be recognized tonight at a public awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

The Rolex Awards are an international philanthropic programme that supports new and ongoing projects by individuals taking on major challenges to benefit mankind. It has served as a benchmark for corporate philanthropy the world over for four decades.

Hundreds of luminaries, leading scientists, environmentalists and business people from Los Angeles and abroad will gather this evening at the Dolby Theatre, a Hollywood landmark that is renowned as home of the Academy Awards, to celebrate the spirit of enterprise manifest by the winners chosen in this commemorative year.

The 10 winners of 2016 join the 130 Laureates who have gone before them in the 40 years since the Awards' launch in 1976 when the programme was created to observe the half-century celebration of the iconic Rolex Oyster chronometer, the world's first waterproof wristwatch.

"We are celebrating a very significant occasion in the history of the Awards and in the history of Rolex," said Rebecca Irvin, Head of Philanthropy at Rolex. "Forty years ago the company initiated the Rolex Awards to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Oyster in a manner that reflected the spirit of enterprise on which the company was founded."                                                 

"What better place to pay tribute to this enterprising spirit and the pioneering work of the 10 Rolex Awards winners than a city – Los Angeles – that embraces diversity and innovation."

The six men and four women were chosen by an international Jury of 12 eminent experts who selected them after meeting with the finalists who had been shortlisted from among 2,322 applicants representing 144 nationalities. Each Laureate receives 100,000 Swiss francs (US$104,000) and each Young Laureate 50,000 Swiss francs (US$52,000) to advance their projects; all receive a Rolex chronometer and worldwide publicity.

The five Rolex Laureates honoured at the ceremony are:

Andrew BASTAWROUS, 36, United Kingdom – is an ophthalmologist whose team's smartphone-based portable eye examination system, Peek Vision, is radically changing eye care in sub-Saharan Africa and other resource-poor settings. Working in partnerships, trained lay people such as teachers or community volunteers can screen for vision problems, blindness and other eye diseases, enabling accurate diagnosis and treatment. Bastawrous and his team will set up a centre of excellence for Peek training and learning in Kitale, Kenya.

Kerstin FORSBERG, 32, Peru – is a biologist protecting giant manta rays by helping fishermen pursue ecotourism as an alternative income source and training them alongside ecotourists to collect data on the distribution and abundance of this species. Forsberg will work with local communities to raise awareness and appreciation of giant mantas through outreach programmes that creatively combine the use of science and education.

Vreni HAUSSERMANN, 46, Chile/Germany – is exploring Chilean Patagonia's fjords to document the unknown and unique life at the bottom of the sea at three remote areas by combining exploration and science in an attempt to create support for conservation through public outreach. She is also raising awareness about the damaging effects of current human activities to engage the public and decision-makers in setting up a science-based network of marine protected areas.

Conor WALSH, 35, Ireland – is a mechanical and biomedical engineer, based at Harvard University in the US, who is tackling the mobility problems of stroke sufferers and others by developing a soft robotic suit that can be worn under clothes and will enable physically impaired people to walk without assistance. Expected to be ready in about three years, after clinical trials and regulatory approval, his "exosuit" will analyse and gradually train muscles, limbs and joints back into healthy patterns of movement.

Sonam WANGCHUK, 50, India – is a Ladakhi engineer who is solving the problem of a lack of water for agriculture in the desert landscapes of the western Himalayas by building "ice stupas". Named after Buddhist monuments, these conical ice mounds behave like mini artificial glaciers, slowly releasing water in the growing season. He intends to build up to 20 ice stupas, each 30 metres high and capable of supplying millions of litres of water. A long-term aim is to build an alternative university and engage youth in the environment.

In light of the growing number of achievers under the age of 30 who are tackling today's challenges with fervour, Rolex began a Young Laureates segment of the Enterprise Awards programme in 2010 to encourage younger pioneers at a critical stage of their careers and help them bring innovative ideas to fruition.

The five Young Laureates announced at the Los Angeles ceremony are:

Joseph COOK, 29, United Kingdom – is a pioneer in the field of glacial microbiology who, through his "Ice Alive" mission, is exploring polar ice microbes in the vast "frozen rainforest" of the Greenland ice sheet and communicating how these microbes influence climate, nutrient and carbon cycles, and other aspects of our world and its systems.

Oscar EKPONIMO, 30, Nigeria – is addressing the problems of food poverty through Chowberry, a cloud-based application that automates the monitoring of food products approaching the end of shelf-life and generates notifications to food retailers, allowing them to offer discounts to charities, and ultimately helping to alleviate hunger in the country.

Christine KEUNG, 24, United States – emigrated to the US at the age of four and is using her education as a force for good by empowering women in north-western China, where her family originated, to work with doctors and industry to reduce water and soil pollution and act as environmental stewards and agents of change.

Junto OHKI, 29, Japan – is improving communication among hearing-impaired people worldwide by expanding a crowdsourced, online sign-language database dictionary called SLinto, which will bridge the gap between the 126 extant sign languages and become a global platform for all existing and new signs.

Sarah TOUMI, 29, France/Tunisia – is spearheading a grass-roots initiative, Acacias for All, in Tunisia, to fight the country's desertification caused by climate change and reduce poverty among farmers through reforestation and crops more suited to a lower rainfall. She also runs a non-governmental organization to help women and youth realize their potential.

The 2016 winners become part of the community of the Rolex Laureates and Associate Laureates who have helped to reshape the world in the 40 years since the Awards were created. Tonight's 40th anniversary celebration in Los Angeles acknowledges the catalytic impact that they have made on their communities and beyond.

Rolex philanthropy

Philanthropy and corporate social responsibility have been an integral part of Rolex's corporate culture since its beginnings. Supporting the greater good and individual achievement is fundamental to the company's ethos. The Rolex Awards for Enterprise and its sister programme, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, comprise the two major international philanthropic programmes created and run by the company. The Arts Initiative brings together emerging artists with masters in architecture, dance, film, literature, music, theatre and the visual arts for a year of intensive collaboration. The aim is to help ensure that artistic excellence is passed on to the next generation. Both programmes foster innovation and advance the work of those who exemplify the vision, originality and excellence that define Rolex.

For further information on the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, visit: rolexawards.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Anne-Sophie de Guigné
The Rolex Awards for Enterprise T : +41 22 302 22 00
T : +41 22 302 76 88 (direct) [email protected]

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SOURCE Rolex

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