Nominations for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Awards, which recognise exceptional young people from across the Commonwealth, are now open. Organised and delivered by the Commonwealth Youth Programme, the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work aims to recognise and celebrate young people (aged 15 – 29) in the Commonwealth. Young people who are spearheading impactful, sustainable development work in their communities.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) will again join as a partner for the 2023 Awards to offer a special award prize to an eligible, selected applicant. Previous winners have enjoyed international acclaim, cash prizes and invaluable networking opportunities to help boost their projects.
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The Main Objectives of the Awards are to:
- Highlight the contributions young people are making to development work in the Commonwealth, particularly through the Sustainable Development Goals;
- 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; and
- Motivate, encourage and challenge young people to set high standards for their work/service at community, national, regional or international levels.
Eligibility for the Commonwealth Youth Awards 2023
- Be a Commonwealth citizen;
- between the age of 15 to 29 years; and
- have been engaged in development work for at least 12 months as a professional or volunteer.
- Nominees must show a strong track record of implementing impactful development work which contributes to at least one of the 17 SDGs.
- To be eligible for the additional QCT prize, applicants must be aged 18 to 29 years old, and the founder or co-founder of a social enterprise.
Awards Basis
- Level of impact.
- Level of innovation/fresh approaches to problem solving.
- Quality of achievement.
- Quality of the evidence provided; and
- Sustainability.
Prizes
- Young people from the 56 Commonwealth countries can enter five regional categories: Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Canada, and the Pacific.
- An independent pan-Commonwealth jury will judge the nominations based on impact, sustainability and innovation.
- The jury will shortlist finalists, who will each receive a trophy, a certificate and £1,000 in cash. And from them, regional award winners will be chosen. These will receive an additional £2,000.
- One of the regional award recipients will be accorded further recognition as Commonwealth Young Person of the Year and a total cash prize of £5,000.
For the second year running the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) has joined the Commonwealth Secretariat as a partner to offer one winner up to two years of flexible funding worth £20,000 a year, as well as coaching opportunities and organisational development support.
Application deadline: 17 October 2022. Hurry now and apply here or visit the official website of the programme for more details.
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