The remarkable achievements of 61 young global leaders were celebrated at a Downing Street reception hosted by Prime Minister Theresa May. Hailing from 38 Commonwealth countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ghana, Malawi, New Zealand, Canada and Dominica, the inspirational group of young people, aged between 18 and 29, have all completed the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme which aims to celebrate and support young people who are leading the way in transforming their local communities.
The list included 3 Indians, 24 year old Deane de Menezes, tackling the stigma around menstruation in India, 27 year old Trisha Shetty, working to promote gender equality and the founder of SheSays and 27 year old Aditya Kulkarni, who is developing mobile health solutions to help reduce maternal and child mortality in areas with limited health resources. He is the co-creator of CareMother. There were 3 young people from Pakistan and two from Bangladesh.
They spoke to the Prime Minister about their pioneering work across a broad range of fields including healthcare, women’s rights and equality, STEM and climate change, and Theresa May reiterated her continuing commitment to the Commonwealth and to delivering a fairer, more sustainable, and more prosperous future.
Speaking at the reception earlier, Prime Minister Theresa May said: “The inspirational young people I met earlier today show what a powerful force for good our Commonwealth can be. I was delighted to hear about the wonderful work these future leaders are doing, serving their communities, helping others and improving the life chances of other young people.
“The UK is committed to a fairer, more sustainable and more prosperous Commonwealth, and at the heart of that vision must be its young people. That’s why the voices of youth representatives were given such a high priority when the Heads of Governments met earlier this year; and why I will continue to ensure young people take centre stage as we shape the Commonwealth of the future.”
