Ford Grants Programme Extended
The closing date for the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants programme has been extended to mid-October 2000 to provide more time for interested applicants to submit their entries.
“Although the response towards this programme has been encouraging, we’ve also received numerous requests asking for an extension on the date. As such we decided to extended the deadline by two weeks,” said Richard Canny, Managing Director of AMIM Holdings Sdn Bhd, the local assembler and distributor of Ford vehicles.
The programme, launched in August, aims to encourage Malaysians to initiate or work on projects that help the local environment, heritage and natural resources. Under the programme, US$60,000 as a grant is being offered to on-going conservation or environmental initiatives being conducted by individuals, environmental organisations and community groups.
Grant applicants can send in their projects in four different categories: natural environment; projects to conserve flora, fauna and/or their respective habitats, heritage; projects to conserve man-made aspects of national heritage, conservation engineering; projects to reduce the rate of consumption of natural resources and/or pollution and child and youth projects; or any conservation project involving young people below 18 years.
A Malaysian panel jury comprising experts in these areas will evaluate the submissions based on their usefulness and practicality, dedication, financial needs, originality and replicability.
The jury panel includes Hajjah Rosnani Ibrahim, the Director General of the Department of Environment, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, the Chairman of Iris Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Salleh Mohd Nor, President of the Malaysian Nature Society, Prof. Datuk Dr Sham Sani, the previous Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Dato’ Ng Poh Tip, Managing Director of The Star and Jimmy Lim, the Principal Architect of CLS Associates.
The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants programme – which distributes grants of RM3.8 million annually – is a continuation of the successful Henry Ford Conservation Awards which was launched in Europe in 1983. This year, Ford has extended the programme to over 50 countries including four ASEAN nations – Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam – allowing the company to contribute to various cultural and environmental preservation efforts in Malaysia and Southeast Asian Countries.
To obtain the official entry form or to inquire further regarding the programme, call the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants hotline at (03) 2718-8263 between 9 AM and 5 PM during weekdays. All submissions must reach the organisers by October 15, 2000 with details on the specific project and the required funding.
The Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants programme is also being co-supported by the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), an U.S.-government agency created by Presidential Initiative in 1992. The US-AEP promotes the adoption of clean and efficient environmental technologies, policies and practices in Asia’s growth markets.
