PM to award new prize for initiatives and innovation

Netanyahu says “Israel among world leaders in initiatives thanks to its human capital. I welcome this activity. We need to be leaders.”

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Netanyahu Headshot 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Netanyahu Headshot 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will on Thursday award for the first time the Prime Minister’s Prize for Initiatives and Innovation at the Technion in Haifa, at what is to be the main Israeli event in the framework of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Candidates were considered from three sectors: Young people, women and the periphery.
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The prize committee chose the following recipients:
• Pnina Furst (young people) – Set up a network that allows employers to find temporary workers immediately, based on SMS messages sent to appropriate workers after they confirm their availability and whose details are sent to employers within minutes. The network has already registered 15,000 workers and over 1,000 employers.
• Maya Efrati (women) – Developed a process that converts used polyethylene bags into a variety of products via use of a unique ‘green’ glue that creates strong, multi-layered sheets. The recycled sheets can be used to make purses, wallets, etc.
• Ronnie Palmer (periphery) – Founding chair of the Or Movement to encourage settlement in the Galilee and the Negev.
The Prime Minister’s Prize – NIS 75,000 for each recipient – is designed to encourage initiatives, innovative thinking, imagination and creativity among various population groups and to foster changes in the areas of the environment, society, science, technology and others, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Monday.
“Israel is among the world leaders in initiatives thanks to its human capital. We have many entrepreneurs who are active in our universities, hi-tech business, and so on, and I welcome this activity. We need to be leaders,” Netanyahu said in the statement.
“The government will advance concrete proposals in the economic sphere in order to ensure that we will continue to maintain our qualitative advantage in innovation and initiatives. These, in the end, are the key to the State of Israel’s economic advantage.”