Commonwealth Youth Awards 2017

The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work aims to raise the profile and highlight the contribution young people make to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). This award is presented to young people who are taking action to address development challenges in the world today from poverty, unemployment, climate change, violent extremism, lack of access to education etc. and are making a remarkable difference in the lives of the people in their local community, village, province, country, region and world at large.

The young people who will receive this award should demonstrate measurable/tangible impact through their development work.

The main Objectives of the Commonwealth Youth Awards are to:-

• Highlight the contribution of young people in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
• Acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by young people to development and democracy goals in the Commonwealth;
• Create an environment which will encourage and sustain investments in youth led development;
• Illustrate the depth and breadth of talent, commitment and creativity that exists among young people across the Commonwealth by highlighting nominees' success stories;
• Motivate, encourage and challenge young people (age 15-29) to set high standards for their work/service at community, national, regional or international levels;

Nomination Requirements

• The nominee must have been engaged in development work for more than 12 months, either in a professional or voluntary capacity;
• The nominee must be a Commonwealth citizen and the development work must be taking place in a Commonwealth member country;
• The nominee should not be older than 29 on 31 December 2016;
• Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone who can accurately describe their development work;
• The winners must agree to take part in publicity generated by the Commonwealth.

Awards will be decided on the basis of:

1.      Level of Impact;

2.      Level of innovation/fresh approaches to problem solving;

3.      Quality of achievement;

4.      Quality of the evidence provided.

5.      Sustainability

Awards Process

There will be four finalists per Commonwealth region with the top entry receiving the Regional Winner Award and the top regional winner receiving the Pan Commonwealth Award and to be named the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2017.

The 16 Regional finalists will each receive a £1,000 grant, a trophy and a certificate.

The 4 Regional Winners will receive an additional £2,000 (a total of £3,000) a trophy and a certificate

The Pan Commonwealth Winner will receive an additional £2000 (a total of £5,000) a trophy and a certificate.

The 4 Regional Winners will be invited to receive their awards at an official ceremony in London, United Kingdom during Commonwealth Week, March 2017.

For more information, visit the official homepage:

https://commonwealth-youthexcellence.awardsplatform.com