Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) has issued an edict, forming the committee of the second edition of the "Shaikha Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa Award for Youth Voluntary Work".
Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa will be the Chairperson of the committee, while members include the Assistant Undersecretary for Youth Development at the Youth and Sports Affairs, NGOs’ Director at the Labour and Social Development Ministry, and the Chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Unit at the University of Bahrain, s well as the Secretary-General of the 4shabab International Organisation, the representatives of relevant NGOs.
The edict also mandates the committee to decide the award’s criteria and procedures, select the winning works and announce the award’s decisions.
Launched as per Royal Order 15/2011 in tribute to late Shaikha Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa and her distinguished role in supporting charity, social and voluntary work, the award is one of the key initiatives to promote voluntary work and encourage youngsters to stand out in serving the Bahraini society.
The award aims to strengthen areas of voluntary work of young male and female Bahrainis, and encourage them to take the initiative and be innovative in an area where Bahrain has a sound reputation. 
The award disseminates the concept of voluntary work culture and highlights its moral value as a national and humane duty as well as develops the role of individuals and groups in achieving creative and sustainable voluntary work projects.
It also aims to strengthen the spirit of competition and highlight youth initiatives in the field of implementation of outstanding projects geared to serve the community.
Participants should be Bahrainis aged between 18 and 35, and presented works at the group level should be carried out by an educational institution, a university or a civil society organisation.
The nominated projects should meet a set of criteria related to sustainability, commitment, sponsors, targeted segments, positive impacts on the beneficiaries, the previous experience of the project owner or team, as well as the personal interview.
The distribution ceremony of the first edition of the award was held in January, 2014.
Shaikha Hala bint Ali Al Khalifa won the award in the individual category for her project ‘Wish Child Welfare Foundation’. Mohammed Ahmed Al Murbati won the second place for his website bahrainivents. com.
The first and second prizes in the collective category went to the ‘Volunteers Meeting Point’ project and ‘A Child’s Wish’ campaign.

Source: BNA