Sheikh Sultan Award - Celebrating the spirit of youth
The brainchild of Suzanne Al Houby - Founder and CEO of Rahhalah.
Back in 2015, I wanted to give back more when it came to youth. I have witnessed first hand the transformation and growth which took place when youth are given the opportunity by creating the right experiences for them. I believed that academia alone is no longer enough. The classrooms are not equipping our younger ones for the challenges of life itself nor enabling them to unleash their true potential. I believed and promoted that experiential learning and pushing boundaries out of comfort zones were far too important to create unique individuals who can become game changers in one way or the other.
Youth are hungry to challenge themselves, to explore and to get out of their comfort zone and this is where they build character and learn more about themselves, others and the world. If youth are offered the right support and experience, they can better define their goals, dreams, find their voice, be inspired for creativity and be happier and more tolerant individuals. Most importantly, through a challenging adventure, they also learn skills that will take them through challenges of life itself and help them prosper.
Globally there are few programs that encourage this spirit of growth but none was in our region!
I pitched the idea to the rulers of Sharjah and three years later after hard work, it has been launched as: The Sheikh Sultan Award which celebrates the Spirit of Youth. The Award is about unleashing potential through adventure, volunteerism, skills, and hobbies and is divided to three levels: bronze, silver and gold for age groups of 13- 18.
We proudly ran two pilots and recorded the incredible results to support the launch of the award in its final version.
I would like to personally thank the listening ears and trust that was given to me by HH Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi - wife of the ruler of Sharjah- and her incredible team. To have this award carry the name of HH Dr Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah is an immense honor. I also sincerely thank all participants in our pilots who became the first group of awardees: they helped us bring this to fruition and they have earned their medals.
For more information about the award please check the link below:
