Commonwealth winners from Ghana to receive special award from Her Majesty The Queen
3 young Ghanaians have been selected to receive the prestigious Queen's Young Leaders Award 2017 from Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme is today delighted to reveal that 3 young persons from Ghana who are part of 60 young people from across the Commonwealth, have been selected to receive a prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award.
The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards recognise and celebrate exceptional young people aged 18 to 29 in the Commonwealth who are driving change within their communities and transforming people’s lives. Now in its third and penultimate year, the 60 young people announced today become part of the growing Queen’s Young Leaders community, a unique network of influential young change-makers who are coming together and being supported to become an even greater force for good. They will receive their Award from Her Majesty The Queen at a ceremony in London next year.
This year, Award winners are leading projects tackling global issues including education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.
The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was established in 2014 by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief, The Royal Commonwealth Society and the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education, in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth. Each year for four years, 60 Queen’s Young Leaders receive bespoke training, mentoring and networking opportunities, and take part in a week-long residential programme in London, to empower them to build on the work they are leading in their communities which is changing the lives of others for the better.
Dr Astrid Bonfield CBE, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust said:
We are delighted that these incredible young people have been selected as Queen’s Young Leaders, and wish our warmest congratulations to each and every one of them. The Queen’s Young Leaders Award is designed to inspire and nurture the talent of exceptional young people from all over the Commonwealth, so that they can create and lead others towards securing positive changes in communities. The work being undertaken by the latest cohort of Queen’s Young Leaders is addressing some of the most crucial issues facing the Commonwealth today. We cannot wait to see how their impressive endeavours grow and develop over the course of the year to come and beyond.
To see a full list of Award winners and highly commended runners up, and read more about their stories please visit Queensyoungleaders
For more information contact:
Alessandra D’Almo, Comic Relief 02078202539 a.d’almo@comicrelief.com
Notes to editors
Queen’s Young Leaders on social media
Twitter: @queensleaders Instagram: @queensyoungleaders Facebook: facebook.com/queensyoungleaders Hashtag: #QueensYoungLeaders
The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, in partnership with Comic Relief, The Royal Commonwealth Society and the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Continuing Education, established The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme in honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s 60 years of service to the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee. Guided by the values of the Commonwealth Charter, the goal of the Programme is to enable young people to step up as leaders and improve the lives of people across the Commonwealth.
Award details
Each year from 2014 to 2018, 60 exceptional young people will be selected to receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award and become ‘Queen’s Young Leaders’ – one for every year that The Queen had served as Head of the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee. This year’s Award winners are aged between 18 and 29 and are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of different issues including education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.
As part of the Award, winners will receive bespoke mentoring and online learning provided by the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education. Award winners will attend a week-long residential programme in the UK in June, when they will receive their Award at Buckingham Palace from Her Majesty The Queen.
Criteria to win an award:
- Nominees will have proven experience of working to improve their communities locally, regionally or at a national level and will show evidence of their achievements
- Nominees will be aged between 18 and 29 for the year of the Award and be citizens of a Commonwealth country.
- Nominees will demonstrate evidence of their leadership qualities.
- Priority will be given to individuals who have overcome challenges to achieve their goals
- All nominees will need to be supported by a suitable referee
The Partners
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is a charitable foundation, established in 2012, to mark and celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 60-year contribution to the Commonwealth. The Trust has received donations from governments, corporate partners, trusts, foundations, community groups and individuals from across the Commonwealth, and its programmes work in alliance towards eliminating avoidable blindness and to empower a new generation of young leaders. With a five-year timeframe in which to deliver successful programmes, the Trust’s aim is to leave a lasting legacy, owned by the whole Commonwealth, to honour Her Majesty The Queen. For more information go to JubileeTrustFund
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a UK charity which aims to create a just world, free from poverty - where everyone is safe, healthy, educated and empowered. Since 1985, Comic Relief has raised over £1 billion. That money has helped, and is helping, people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world. For information about Comic Relief and the work it carries out, please visit ComicRelief
Comic Relief, registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland)
Royal Commonwealth Society
The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), founded in 1868, is a network of individuals and organisations committed to improving the lives and prospects of Commonwealth citizens across the world. Working through a range of educational, civil society, business and governmental networks, the RCS addresses issues that matter to the Commonwealth citizens. For more information go to RoyalCommonwealthSociety
The University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)
ICE was founded in 1873 and offers a wide range of part-time and short courses for adults, covering topics from the arts and humanities to the sciences and professional qualifications. Based at Madingley Hall in Cambridge, ICE welcomes thousands of students each year to its popular short courses, part-time undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and growing number of online courses.