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Innovating for Humanity
Newsletter - October 2026
From clean mobility breakthroughs and AI-powered solutions to the next generation of innovators, discover how the Zayed Sustainability Prize community is delivering measurable
impact worldwide.
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| What Can the Arctic Teach Us About Resilience? |
| In a new EU Reporter article, Ayla Majid speaks with H.E. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former President of Iceland and Jury Chair of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, about building resilient societies in an era of uncertainty. Drawing on lessons from the Arctic and the Prize’s global community of innovators, President Grímsson explores how cooperation, innovation, and locally driven solutions can help communities navigate disruption and build lasting resilience.
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| How solar power is rewriting Nigeria’s rural economy |
| Across Nigeria, solar-powered drying, cold storage and digital tools are helping farmers protect harvests, reduce food loss and strengthen rural livelihoods. The article looks at how Zayed Sustainability Prize winners NaFarm Foods and BASE Foundation are applying practical clean-energy solutions to one of the country’s most persistent food-security challenges — from preserving fresh produce to making cooling more accessible and affordable.
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| In Abu Dhabi, AI play is transforming neuroinclusive education |
| What began as one father’s determination to support his autistic son has grown into a global innovation helping neurodivergent children learn and thrive. In this CNN feature, discover how Jade, the Zayed Sustainability Prize’s 2026 Health winner, is using AI-powered games to better understand children’s learning needs, and how its growing presence in Abu Dhabi is helping bring more inclusive education to communities around the world. |
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| Why East Africa’s Sustainability Solutions Are Built to Last |
| East Africa’s most enduring sustainability solutions start with understanding people’s everyday lives. Writing in Daily Nation, development sociologist Fortunata Songora Makene explores how locally rooted innovation can strengthen climate resilience, expand financial inclusion and improve women’s lives. Highlighting Prize winners OpenMap Development Tanzania and M-KOPA, she argues that lasting impact depends not simply on reaching more people, but on reducing women’s burdens and strengthening their control over resources and decisions. |
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| A Local Approach to Clean Energy Gains Global Recognition |
| In a recent Channels TV segment, Energy Assured Founder and CEO Ibrahim Aboki discussed how the 2027 Energy finalist is expanding access to affordable clean energy through pay-as-you-go solar systems, clean cookstoves and shared solar irrigation pumps. He also explored how its community-based model could help more rural households and smallholder farmers overcome high upfront energy costs. |
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| Bhutanese Students Bring Smart Agriculture to the Global Stage |
| 2027 Global High Schools finalist Motithang Higher Secondary School was featured by Bhutan’s national broadcaster, BBS, for its smart agriculture project. The school’s system uses sensors, automated drip irrigation and remote monitoring to reduce water use and improve plant growth, with plans to expand the approach into reforestation and hands-on learning for students. |
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| Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow. |
This World Food Day, the Zayed Sustainability Prize explores how innovation can help transform the way food is produced, preserved and distributed.
From making every harvest go further and turning waste into value, to expanding access to safe and nutritious food, Prize winners around the world are putting practical solutions into action and helping build more resilient food systems.
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| Voices of Sustainability |
Melvyn Lubega, Founder & Chairperson of Baobab Group
In the latest episode of Voices of Sustainability, Melvyn Lubega explores how technology, education and investment can work together to develop talent, expand opportunity and build more resilient economies. Drawing on his experience building Go1 into a global learning platform and now backing the next generation of founders, he reflects on the future of work, scaling innovation from Africa and creating the conditions for more people to succeed.
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| Juan Lavista Ferres
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Chief Data Scientist and Lab Director,
Microsoft AI for Good Research Lab
In another recent episode, Juan Lavista Ferres explores how AI can be used to address global challenges while ensuring its benefits reach more people. From conservation and access to knowledge to the importance of electricity, connectivity and language, the conversation looks at both the potential of AI for good and the barriers that still need to be overcome.
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UAE report examines how to power AI in a water-scarce world
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The dawn of the age of the exoskeleton
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| Verra approves first credits under food loss and waste methodology |
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