Mrinalini Dayal and Yogesh Kumar, two Indian youngsters have been shortlisted as finalists for the Commonwealth Youth awards 2018. They are among the 20 talented young people who have been shortlisted for the this year's 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 as campaigners, entrepreneurs, and innovative industry experts among others, 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”
Mrinalini Dayal from India 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.
Yogesh Kumar who is also representing India, 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.
Besides them, other Indian-origin finalists representing other countries in this awards are Vanessa Paranjothy of Singapore, Elvis Anal Kumar of Fiji and Kehkashan Basu of Canada.
Commonwealth Youth Council
Also Ravi Theja Muthu, originally from Chittoor village in Andhra Pradesh, has been nominated as one of the contesting candidates for the position of a Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth Youth Council.
