Deadline: December 14, 2017
Nominations are invited for the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work 2018. The aim of the award is to raise the profile of young people and highlight the contribution they are making towards developing a fairer, sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous future for the Commonwealth.
This special edition of the awards will coincide with the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) preceding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, April, 2018 under the theme “Towards a Common Future” and will highlight the contribution that young people are making throughout the Commonwealth, in areas such as poverty alleviation, conflict resolution and prevention, democracy and environmental preservation.
Objectives of the Award
The main Objectives of the Commonwealth Youth Awards are to:
- Highlight the contribution young people are making to promote the common goal of a future built on fairness, peace, prosperity and sustainability and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s);
- Acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by young people to overall 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 (aged 15-29) to set high standards for their work/service at community, national, regional or international levels.
Award
- The finalists will receive cash grants of GBP £1,000 to continue their development work, and will each be awarded a trophy and certificate;
- Each regional winner will receive a cash grant of GBP £3,000, while the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year will receive GBP £5,000 to support an ongoing project or initiative.
Eligibility
- Young people aged 15 to 29 from Commonwealth member countries are eligible to apply for the awards, which focus this year on raising the profile and celebrating young people’s contribution towards developing a fairer, more sustainable, more secure, and more prosperous future for the Commonwealth; the four sub-themes of CHOGM 2018.
Judging Criteria
Awards will be decided on the basis of:
- Level of Impact;
- Level of innovation/fresh approaches to problem solving;
- Quality of achievement;
- Quality of the evidence provided;
- Sustainability
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 2017;
- 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.
Begin your nomination here.
For more information, visit Commonwealth Youth Awards.
