(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Nov 27 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Al-Sumait Prize for African Development has granted the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) its "2017 Al-Sumait Prize" for its contributions to education in the mammoth continent.

FAWE has made profound contributions in the field of education in Africa, Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, who is also the chairman of the Al-Sumait Prize for African Development, told the press.

He hailed the prize, christened after one of Kuwait's leading philanthropists the late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, as a humanitarian initiative and brainchild of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

He revealed that the award is an annual monetary sum worth USD one million to recognize outstanding research and development in Africa, saying that FAWE deserved the award for its efforts to grant African women access to education.

The Kuwaiti foreign minister also touted FAWE as a colossal organization that has joined forces with 14 African education ministries all in an effort to support women's education in a continent where patriarchal values remain deeply ingrained.

Meanwhile, the Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin said that the Al-Sumait Prize for African Development's board of trustees reads like a who's who of notable personalities.

He pointed out that all individuals or organizations who have contributed to the progress of education in Africa are eligible for the prestigious award. (end) zak.kah.nam

MENAFN2711201700710000ID1096157232