Dubai: Semi-finalists for the UAE Drones for Good Award will demonstrate 39 projects in a ceremony to be held over the weekend ahead of the second Government Summit.

The award was launched last year at the first Government Summit by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote harnessing technology of unmanned aircraft to improve the lives of people, both in the UAE and other parts of the world.

The special ceremony on Friday and Saturday will celebrate the projects that qualified to the semi-finals stage at the national, International and government competitions of the award.

According to the organising committee, apart from providing an opportunity to conduct live demonstrations of their projects, the ceremony will let contestants interact with other innovators and various business entities as well as exploring avenues to finance their projects.

A knowledge conference will be held as part of the event with international experts sharing their experiences and experiments on the latest advances in the drone sector.

There were more than 800 local, Arab and international entries for the award and they were qualified after being evaluated in three categories based on key criteria such as innovative ideas, added value, low cost and efficiency.

“The award attracted huge participation and interaction from all over the world. The award embodies the vision of Shaikh Mohammad who launched the international award in line with the UAE’s strategy to promote innovation in technology and enhance the UAE’s leadership in using civilian drone technology,” said Saif Al Aleeli, Project Manager of the UAE Drones for Good Award at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office.

Prize money worth Dh4.67 million (Dh3,67 million for international and Dh1 million for national competition) will be up for grabs by the winners.

The second government summit will be held on over three days from February 9 to February 11 following the ‘Drone of Good’ event.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum will launch the summit with the keynote address at Madinat Jumeirah on Monday.

Other celebrity speakers include UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who will speak at noon, followed by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as well as Queen Rania of Jordan, who will deliver the main address in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs will head a plenary session. Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, will also address a session.

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, will also speak at a plenary session in the afternoon.

The last day of the summit will see local administrators Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity Authority and Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, address the morning plenary session.

Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, will address the final session of the day.