H.E. Mr Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Republic of Maldives was awarded the prize for Policy at the World Technology Awards 2010 convened by the World Technology Network in New York City. The Awards gala was the culmination of a two-day long World Technology Summit that brought together many of the world’s most innovative individuals, firms and organisations across various fields of science and technology.
President Nasheed was declared the winner of the award after garnering the highest number of votes amongst a stellar field of nominees including Martin O’Malley, Governor of the State of Maryland, David Paterson, Governor of New York, and Steve Chu, Secretary of Energy at the US Department of Energy.
President Nasheed was recognised for his leadership and proactive stance on climate change policy on the world stage, in particular his recent pledge to make the Maldives carbon neutral by 2020.
Accepting the award on behalf of President Nasheed, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations, H.E. Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, apologised on the President’s behalf for his inability to personally attend the award ceremony. He then read out a statement by the President, highlighting the central role that science and technology must play in combatting climate change. In order to triumph over the grim reality facing low-lying island states like the Maldives, the world must harness humanity’s greatest resource - the ingenuity and innovative capacity of skilled and educated people who will drive the technologies of the future and help build a prosperous world with energy security and a stable climate.
