Campaigners, entrepreneurs, and innovative industry experts are just a few of the 20 talented young people who have been shortlisted for the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards.
Campaigners, entrepreneurs, and innovative industry experts are just a few of the 20 talented young people who have been shortlisted for the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards.
The awards recognise outstanding young people aged 15 to 29 whose innovative projects and programmes have had a significant impact on their communities. This year’s focus is on celebrating young people’s contribution towards a fairer, more sustainable, more secure and more prosperous future for the Commonwealth: the four sub-themes of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) taking place in London in April.
The 20 finalists span every region of the Commonwealth, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, and the Pacific. They were shortlisted from more than 400 applications from across the globe. The programme is being coordinated by the Commonwealth Youth Programme.
Regional Young Persons of the Year will be selected, with one exceptional entrant being recognised as the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year during the Commonwealth Youth Forum, in London in April.
In addition to a grant of GBP £1,000 to continue their development work, finalists will each be awarded a trophy and certificate. The Regional Young Persons of the Year will receive £3,000, and the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year will pick up £5,000.
The Pan-Commonwealth adjudication panel for the final shortlisting of the overall regional and overall winner of the 2018 awards , convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat, , included the High Commissioner for Saint Kitts and Nevis, representatives from the High Commissions of Fiji, Malaysia, and Kenya, a trustee of the British Youth Council and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.
Last year’s Commonwealth Young Person of the Year was Krystle Reid, an advocate for empowerment of young persons living with disabilities in her native country Sri Lanka. Speaking about her experience of winning the award, she said, “It was a highlight of my life and a great opportunity and platform to further scale up the work of the Enable Lanka Foundation for an incubator space for young entrepreneurs with disabilities. This award will allow me to reach out to even more marginalised groups and communities. It is an opportunity no young person should miss.”
The finalists this year have initiatives and projects that aim to build a more secure, prosperous, fairer and a sustainable future for all in the grassroots levels and exemplify the outstanding contribution of young people from across the Commonwealth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and realising the CHOGM2018 aspiration “Towards a Common Future”
The shortlisted finalists are:
ASIA
India - Mrinalini Dayal
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality
Mrinalini is the campaign leader for ‘Health Over Stigma’, an organisation which aims to challenge the stigma of accessing sexual health services and create a safe haven for women to reproductive health facilities. The organisation also supports women to gain the skills to run advocacy campaigns and positively impact the lives of other women. To date, ‘Health Over Stigma’ has trained more than 450 young activists.
Pakistan - Zain Ashraf
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Zain is the founder of ‘Seed Out’, a not-for-profit crowdfunding platform which works to end poverty by establishing micro-entrepreneurs through interest-free micro-financing. Since 2014 the organisation has raised 350 entrepreneurs, selecting and pairing micro entrepreneurs with a business based on need.
Singapore - Vanessa Paranjothy
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Vanessa is the founder of ‘Freedom Cups’, an organisation which distributes reusable, sustainable menstrual products in developing regions of Asia and provides education to women and girls about their bodies and the environmental impact of periods. It is run on a buy-one, give-one model where every cup purchased results in one being donated. There are 15 projects in 7 countries which have provided support to more than 3000 women and girls.
India - Yogesh Kumar
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality
Yogesh is the founder of ‘Even Cargo’, a social enterprise which promotes gender equality through the employment of women couriering, which is a traditionally male profession in India. The organisation works to overcome the barriers of unemployment through skill development of women, training female drivers in motorcycle driving, self-defence and logistics.
Brunei - Khairul Azmi Salleh
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Khairul is the vice chair of the ‘Society of Community Outreach and Training’, which encourages low income earners to gain income through recycling, and supports them to be more innovative. Since 2011, the organisation has collected more than 60,000kg of recyclables. The significance being that, for every $1 of recyclable materials contributed, a resident receives 1.5kg of rice.
AFRICA AND EUROPE
Tanzania - Elia Timotheo
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Elia is the founder of ‘East Africa Fruits’, a company that aims to increase the shelf-life of produce through cold-chain technology. In addition, it works to increase the income and standard of living of smallholder farmers, creating employment opportunities for young people. It also focuses on sustainable production methods, with the aim of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide omitted to the atmosphere.
Uganda - Sherifah Tumusiime
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality
Sherifah is the founder of Zimba Group, a start-up business that provides technology and software solutions for SMEs. It also provides tools, technologies, platforms and networks to improve the livelihood of women in underserved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Uganda - Okettayot Lawrence
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Okettayot is the creator of ‘Sparky Dryer’, a low-tech dehydrator which dries fruits and vegetables to extend their shelf life from two days to two years. The aim of the creation is that it increases food security and income for local communities.
Nigeria - Omowumi Ogunrotim
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality
Onowumi is the founder of ‘Gender Mobile’, which aims to increase the reportage of, and reduce the incidence of, gender-based violence through coordination of linked services. It also works to provide survivors with information, referrals, assistance and longer-term help to close the gap in service delivery through creative use of technology.
Kenya - Gerald Matolo
Focus Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Gerald is the founder of ‘Angaza Africa Technologies’, a clean energy company that manufactures electric and manual briquette machines and carbonisation kilns, in addition to processing eco-friendly charcoal pellets for cooking. The company also focusses on empowering women and youth groups by distributing the machines in an affordable way.
PACIFIC
Australia - Kate Crowhurst
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education
Kate has a background in education as a teacher, an author of textbooks for the Australian Curriculum and Federal education policy-maker. She currently works as part of the national financial literacy strategy, providing Australian teachers with professional development and resources. Her organisation, 'Advocate', connects young voters in Canberra with their local politicians, directly engaging young people in democracy.
Australia - Usman Iftikhar
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Usman is the founder of ‘Catalysr’ a start-up incubator that enables migrants and refugees in Australia to start their own businesses and create a sustainable future for themselves and their communities. The company’s four-month incubator programme offers office space, mentoring sessions, networking opportunities and access to capital.
Fiji - Josevata Rotidara
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Josevata is an advocate for ‘Campaign for Mental Health’, an organisation that promotes education to enhance the capabilities of young people, gender equality and sustainable development. It also focuses on mental health and well-being in order to overcome the stigma that surrounds it.
Fiji - Elvis Anal Kumar
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Elvis is a mindfulness trainer at ‘World Peace Initiative’, an organisation that conducts self-development workshops for young Pacific Islanders and teaches stress management, conflict resolution, non-violent communication and youth empowerment.
Papua New Guinea - Lazarus Towa
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Lazarus is a youth worker at ‘Unemployment Initiates’, which links youth with employment opportunities. The organisation also engages youth through social media and targets jobseekers who do not have easy access to job vacancy sites, in addition to providing additional support through advice such as CV writing.
CARIBBEAN AND THE AMERICAS
Jamaica - Rayon Mclean
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Rayon is the founder of Quilt, a performing arts company which engages with children with disabilities, minority groups and at-risk young people.
Jamaica - Sophia Bryan
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality
Sophia is the founder of ‘Women of Unlimited Worth’, which provides holistic support to young women who are exposed to, or at risk of, discrimination or gender violence. The organisation also provides coaching and mentoring mentorship services, specifically aimed at teaching women to provide for themselves.
Trinidad and Tobago - Jonathan Barcant
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action
Jonathan is the founder of ‘Vetivier Education and Empowerment Project’, a cost-effective bio-engineering scheme to build climate change resilience. The scheme delivers a penetrating root system to stabilise land, preventing erosion and slowing down water run-off.
Canada - Kehkashan Basu
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education
Kehkashan is the founder of ‘Green Hope Foundation’, which engages, empowers and educates more than 1000 young people in Canada, India and Malaysia to take action on climate change, the right to education, and gender equality. The foundation also runs environment academies which deliver customised workshops with the mantra of “By Youth, For Youth”.
Guyana - Patricee Douglas
Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Patricee is the founder of SRHR Adventures, which promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) with an emphasis on family planning and contraception in Guyana. The organisation also empowers women and girls to take control of their SRHR, in addition to promoting family planning, safe sex practices and the HPV vaccine.
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