The “Aviram Awards-Tech for Humanity” expects to see truly disruptive positive change across the Middle East. Organised by the Aviram Family Foundation and Forbes, the competition, which is open to innovators from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, is hoping that the 15 finalists’ projects will on that will bring about significant change in the lives of the citizens of the Middle East and beyond.

Among the projects hoping to be selected before the December 10^th deadline is a method to return plastic waste back to its original chemical form, making it possible to recycle the raw material – effectively making some plastics sustainable and reducing pollution at the same time. Other projects might allow the purification of drinking water from seawater using only solar energy, and another hopeful promoting a robot that can communicate with the elderly to ease their sense of loneliness and anxiety, to reduce stress, and encourage better sleep habits.

The winning project, in addition to making a massive difference to the people it will help, will receive a US $500,000 prize together with expert mentoring to allow its ongoing development. Second and third placed projects will receive prizes of $100,000 prize and $50,000 respectively

“Following many years of work, I have discovered the tremendous impact of combining business and technology with doing good,” said Ziv Aviram, entrepreneur and founder of the Aviram Family Foundation. “We established the Aviram Family Foundation to harness these forces. In the past year, we received an unprecedented opportunity — to connect Israel and the countries of the Middle East through joint action in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation. I am excited to start this journey with my family and to locate the next venture that will make a big contribution to humanity and to the realities of our life in Israel and the Middle East.”

“Israel is already a global hotbed for innovation,” added Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer and Editor at Forbes. “But there is still untapped potential in the sector across the rest of the Middle East that is only waiting to be uncovered and nurtured,”