Rolex Young Laureates Program Expands Awards For Enterprise

The Rolex Enterprise Awards--an international program created by Rolex  to provide financial support for innovators and their notable projects around the globe--has been expanded to recognize the contributions of outstanding men and women in the age group of 18 to 30.  Rolex "Young Laureates" award recipients are those individuals who demonstrate the highest degree of inventiveness in the areas of technology development, science and health, cultural preservation, and the environment and its exploration.

In addition to a $50,000 cash prize to apply to an original project, the laureates gain access to a Rolex network of specialist mentors.  "Rolex has a history of supporting individual excellence and achievement," says Rebecca Irvin, director of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. "By providing project support at a critical juncture in the careers of young people, the Young Laureates Program will reward bright new ideas and encourage the next generation to meet the challenges of the future."

The famous Geneva-based watch manufacturer established the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 1976, a year which marked the 50th anniversary of the brand's historic Oyster chronometer.  Since that time, 110 Rolex Enterprise Awards have been given to recipients from 40 countries; the scope of these individuals work--which benefits humanity or the environment--has positively affected more than 60 countries around the globe.  Contemporary Rolex laureates include a physicist from Scotland who pioneered a method of using unmanned helicopters to predict volcanic eruptions, a Jordanian scientist involved in saving the Petra archaeological site, and a Paraguayan social worker that has made recycled materials a key element in creating cost-effective housing for the poor in her home country.  

In the same manner as the original Rolex Enterprise Awards, the Young Laureates Program will encourage dynamic individuals possessed with the desire to improve life on Earth.  The first five recipients of the Rolex Young Laureates Program will be announced in 2010.

"As our world becomes more interdependent and grows more complex, young people must bring new perspectives and fresh approaches to tackling our greatest challenges," said Gilbert Grosvenor, Chairman of the National Geographic Society.  

Grosvenor, also a former jury chair for the Rolex Awards for Enterprise continued, "In this era of global change and uncertainty, the Young Laureates Programme represents a vital investment in the brightest thinkers of tomorrow."