United Arab Emirates, December 2017: The V.I.E Grand Prix Award ceremony was held on Dec. 7, 2017, at the Fairmont The Palm Hotel.
The 8th Grand Prix V.I.E Award and the 1st SME Grand Prix award ceremonies were organized by the French Advisors for Foreign Trade (Conseillers du commerce extérieur de la France – CCE).
With 1 260 V.I.E (Volontaires internationaux en entreprises – young professionals) hosted in the UAE in 341 companies since 2002, the V.I.E program is performing well in the country.
It is witnessing unprecedented great progress, with 184 V.I.E in December (vs. 162 in 2016), marking a 14% increase and bringing the number of V.I.E in the Near / Middle East to 266, of which 70% are based in the UAE.
As many as a hundred French firms are relying on VIE program for their development in the country.
These young professionals are working in all types of firms (start-ups, SME, mid-cap and large groups), in various sectors (oil and gas, industry, luxe retail, food and beverage, health, tech, etc.) and all profiles, mainly focused on support functions (finance, marketing, human resources, etc.) and business development.
This growing success of V.I.E program in the region is due to the investment of the French team for export in promoting it: Business France ensures the administrative aspects and the promotion of the program, the CCE UAE Committee, the French Embassy, the Economy department of the French Embassy, the French Business Council and French Business Group, and the V.I.E club (gathering former V.I.E).
For the 8th Grand Prix V.I.E Award, nearly one-fourth (31 V.I.E and V.I.A, assigned in administration) were candidates among the 140 eligible V.I.E/V.I.A).
A first selection phase was based on files submitted and on interviews conducted last Spring. 15 shortlisted candidates/teams were auditioned again later on.
They have been evaluated on their general presentation, the impact of their actions, the results achieved for the company and their integration in local life. All candidates demonstrated great personal and professional qualities.
In front of 250 attendants, and with the presence of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, French State Secretary in charge of Foreign trade, Alain Bentejac, President of CCE World Committee, Jacques Delajugie, Head of Regional Economic Departments, and H.E. Ludovic Pouille, French Ambassador in the UAE,
the awards have been granted to:
- Nastasia Nelidoff, (1st Grand Prix award, 12 000 AED), on assignment in Cartier perfumes Middle East, for her creativity and her contribution to the success of her company in the region.
- Ali Nair, Khalid Achtal, Mustapha Ouissi, Soufiane Khyar, Houssem Rezgui, from Emerson (2nd Grand Prix award, 8 000 AED). They demonstrated the strength of their tight collaboration on a daily basis. They showed how VIE program had a real impact on the running of the company.
- Sarah Amazit, working in Alstom (3rd Grand Prix award, 6 000 AED). Sarah contributed to the success of the leading project of the Dubai 2020 Metro extension.
- Chirine El Messiri (Jury Special Prize, winning a flight ticket with Air France). As Cultural advisor in the French Institute, she was rewarded for her professional maturity and her impressive contribution to spreading French culture across the UAE.