Towards a Common Future

Nominations are now open for the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work. This special edition of the awards will coincide with the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) preceding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London in April 2018 under the theme “Towards a Common Future”. It 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.

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.

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;

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.

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

Benefits:

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 2018.

• 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 the Commonwealth Youth Forum, 16-18 April 2018.

Awards and shortlisting will be decided on the basis of the impact of the individual’s work, the level of innovation and problem-solving, and the quality of achievements, the sustainability of the work, and supporting evidence provided.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to link their development work and its impact to the outlined four sub-themes on the application link and the 17 SDGs, which were agreed to by the international community just under two years ago.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work.