His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday awarded the winners of the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement, during the closing ceremony of the World Economic Forum WEF at the Dead Sea.

Nuseiba Momani from Jordan, Fidaa Abu Turki from Palestine and Mahmoud Abdul Latif from Egypt received the award.

More than 1,700 candidates from 18 countries competed for the prize, which includes a grant of $50,000 for each winner to help expand his or her enterprise.

His Majesty King Abdullah awrded the three winners and thanked them for their projects, which have contributed to job creation in their local communities.

Abu Turki, who has worked to assist rural women in Palestine, said a turning point in her life came when she witnessed the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israelis at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron when she was 12. “Since then, I have been trying to find ways to assist people,” the 30-year-old said.

Abdul Latif’s project focuses on supporting children, while Momani’s has helped combat the problem of unemployment among women in the northern Governorate of Ajloun.

The award ceremony was one of the highlights of the closing session of the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation in the Arab World. WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said the seven runners-up for the award will benefit from training opportunities through the award’s fund.