A search to identify and support the best thinkers in the Arab world began on Wednesday, with millions of dirhams in funding available.<\/p>\n
Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, compared the\u00a0Great Arab Minds<\/a>\u00a0project to the Nobel Prize.<\/p>\n Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives wants to identify intellectuals, researchers and professionals in fields including physics, maths, data science, economics and higher education.<\/p>\n Each year for five years, six of the brightest people will be given millions of dirhams in funding to support their work.<\/p>\n The initiative comprises six categories: Natural Sciences (Physics and Chemistry), Medicine, Literature and Arts, Economics, Technology and Engineering, and Architecture and Design.<\/p>\n Applicants must be Arab or have made a contribution to the Arab world.<\/p>\n “Like the West have their Nobel Prize, we have the\u00a0Arab Minds prize<\/a>. This is our Nobel Prize,” Mr Gergawi, who is also secretary general of MBRGI, said at the\u00a0Museum of the Future<\/a>\u00a0in Dubai.<\/p>\n Saeed Al Nazari, head of judging committee, said: \u201cIf you look at the region over the past 100 to 200 years, you will see that it has had a huge influence on the scientific scene worldwide.<\/p>\n “You can see that to date \u2014 Arabs have impacted technologies, science physics, you name it.<\/p>\n “This initiative recognises that and revives it. It will inspire people to think big and for the world to see their influence. This award is the biggest in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are focusing on Arabs in the Arab world, but are also open to Arabs who have had a contribution and influence to the Arab world.”<\/p>\n The committee will be overseen by global auditors KPMG.<\/p>\n Over the years, there has been a brain drain in the Arab world, with talent moving to the West, Mr Al Gergawi said.<\/p>\n “Tens of thousands of our youths emigrate looking for better opportunities \u2014 ignorance cost a loss of more than $2 trillion to the Arab world,” he said.<\/p>\n Last year, a Dh100 million ($27.2m) fund was set up by\u00a0Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid<\/a>, Vice President and Ruler of\u00a0Dubai<\/a>, for the initiative.<\/p>\n Museum of the Future will be used as a base for the programme, which will be overseen by four Cabinet ministers.<\/p>\n This month, the Arab Youth Survey results showed a strong desire among young people, particularly in North Africa and the Levant, to move abroad to escape cycles of poverty and joblessness.<\/p>\n The\u00a0UAE<\/a>\u00a0was voted the\u00a0best place to live<\/a>\u00a0in the survey, but the rest of the list comprised nations from outside the region including the US, Canada, France and Germany.<\/p>\n More than a third of young Arabs (35 per cent) say the rising cost of living and unemployment are the biggest obstacles facing the region, with unemployment next at 32 per cent.<\/p>\n