Each year from 2014 to 2018, 60 inspirational young people are selected to receive an 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. The aspiration is for at least one young person from every Commonwealth country to receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for achievement in transforming their own lives and the lives of others.
About the Award
The Queen’s Young Leader Award recognises and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives. Winners of this prestigious Award will receive a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK during which they will collect their Award from Her Majesty The Queen. With this support, Award winners will be expected to continue and develop the amazing work they are already doing in their communities.
The Queen’s Young Leaders of 2017 have now been announced. View a full list of the winners.
What Winners Receive
- Mentoring: As a Queen’s Young Leader you will be allocated a mentor with relevant experience and expertise who will support you over the course of the year to continue and develop your work.
- Online learning: Online learning will be provided with materials relevant to your area of interest, as well as serving as a place for you to meet and share experiences and knowledge with other Queen’s Young Leaders.
- One-week residential programme in the UK: The Award winners will have the opportunity to meet with inspiring people and visit organisations in the UK that have expertise in areas such as media and communications, social action and advocacy. During this week, Awards will be presented by Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Congratulations to this year’s winners and highly commended Runners-up including Opportunity Desk Founder, Grace Ihejiamaizu..
Applications for 2018 will open next year. Keep an eye on OpportunityDesk.org to know when applications open.