Commonwealth looking for the Young Person of the Year – Nominations now open
The nominations for the 2020 Commonwealth Youth Awards, that celebrate all that is being achieved collectively when young people are empowered to realise their full potential, are now open.
The Commonwealth Secretariat in a statement said that the awards recognise the exemplary work undertaken by young people across the 53 member countries.
The Secretariat said that the award nominees must be aged 15 to 29 years, a citizen of a Commonwealth member country, been engaged in development work for more than 12 months, either in a professional or voluntary capacity, have a strong track record of implementing innovative ideas and linking their development work and its impact to one of the 17 SDGs and have demonstrated an understanding of the importance of youth engagement in key areas of development.
“Entrants can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone who is not a relative and who can testify of the impact of their work and sixteen finalist will be short-listed from four Commonwealth regional categories, where a winner will be selected from each region and one exceptional entrant will be awarded the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year,” they added.
Omowumi Ogunrotim, last year’s winner, an activist against gender-based violence from Nigeria said the award is a great honour to her and all those who champion for gender equality.
“It has re-affirmed the collective responsibility we have to create safe spaces for youth across the Commonwealth and has highlighted efforts we are making to transform from aspiration to reality the right for every girl to be secure and safe, thus making our communities and nations an equitable home for all,” she added.
This year’s finalists will receive a trophy, a certificate and cash grants to help them continue their development work and entries must be received by 31 October.
