Jerusalem, Israel - June 21, 2018 - A total of $770,000 prize money was given away during WeWork Creators Awards event held in the Jerusalem Pais Arena on Wednesday night. Winners were chosen for their impact on communities, how they plan to scale their business, and their sustainability in the marketplace.
In the award competition, from 1,300 video entries, Yehudit Abrams, developer of MonitHer, the world's first home breast health monitoring system, won the grand prize. Using ultrasound technology, with software already approved by FDA, the personal hand-held device could save lives through early detection.
In second and third place behind MonitHer in the Business Venture category and winners of $180,000, were SensPD and TETHYS.
In the Nonprofit category, Amutat Kaima won the $72,000 first prize. The other two finalists in the Nonprofit category, Hand In Hand and Yotsrot, both won $18,000.
The Angelcy, an independent band of six musicians that creates, arranges, and records music together, won $18,000 in the Performing Arts category.
WeWork also gave out a Community Giver Award, recognizing the contributions of one outstanding WeWork member. The $36,000 award was given to Sagi Shahar, CEO and Co-Founder of Nachshonim.
The awards ceremony was open to the public, with kosher food and bus transportation from various Israeli cities provided free of charge. The approximately 5,000 attendees were also able to take advantage of a Job Fair and Marketplace. The main event ceremony was hosted by Adi Neumann, former supermodel and sister of WeWork Co-Founder & CEO, Adam Neumann.
Before the awards ceremony, two masterclasses were held in a smaller theater space crafted in the sports arena. First mentalist Lior Suchard performed, followed by a discussion between Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and WeWork founder Neumann. Both sessions had to be closed when the room reached maximum capacity.
Following the award announcements, the event also featured live musical performances by Aviv Geffen & The Mistakes, who were joined by Eviatar Banai. The opening performer was Eurovision winner, Netta Barzilai who had the crowd out of their seats standing, many signing along with her popular songs.
The Creator Awards intend to acknowledge and empower those who exemplify the WeWork mantra: “Create Your Life’s Work” - to bring a new idea into the world, pursue a passion, and believe in something greater than oneself.
Since March 2017, WeWork has hosted more than 23,000 attendees across 10 Regional Semi-Final Creator Awards events around the globe, plus one Global Finals event in New York City in early January 2018. In addition to Jerusalem, Creator Awards events have already taken place in Mexico City, Shanghai, and San Francisco, with additional events planned for Nashville, São Paulo, London and Berlin. The winners of the Regional Semi-Final events will then be eligible to present at the Global Finals for the chance to win additional funds in January 2019.
WeWork provides more than 256,000 members around the world with the space, community, and services, through both physical and virtual offerings, they need to create their life’s work, while helping them collaborate with like-minded people who can help their businesses grow and succeed. Founded in New York City in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork currently has more than 283 physical locations in over 75 cities and 22 countries. A new Jerusalem WeWork center is under construction on the site of the old Mashbir department store on King George Street.
Photo essay includes highlights from the evening.
Following is a list of the ten finalists who presented at the Awards Ceremony:
Business Venture
- Emerj - an internal app for organizations, where employees can discreetly seek advice and get connected to the most relevant people for mentoring or job shadowing, on demand.
- Biblotech - an online Arabic educational platform that offers its users the most advanced teaching methods.
- Duet Writing - a uniquely designed pencil/ writing system to activate multiple learning skills.
- TETHYS - the company’s groundbreaking technology enables the construction of low cost, modular, and scalable desalination water-treatment plants powered directly by solar energy.
- MonitHer - provides the first breast health monitoring system.
- SensPD - develops a device and method to detect autism in an objective way at a very early developmental stage based on a physiological marker.
Nonprofit
- Amutat Kaima - Kaima’s “Employment as Education” model for dropout youth stresses organic farming, business learning, and community engagement, all in nature’s great outdoor classroom – the farm.
- Hand In Hand - a growing network of Jewish-Arab schools and communities. Across Israel, thousands of students, teachers, and families are joining to build a shared society - every day.
- Yotsrot - Turning the Tables helps women in prostitution change their lives via an enveloping program of vocational training, emotional support, financial guidance, and experience working in the Yotsrot fashion studio.
Performing Arts
- 1. The Angelcy - an independent band of six musicians that creates, arranges, and records music together.
