A Vincentian is among 17 persons from 13 countries who are in the running to be named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year at an awards ceremony on 15 March at Marlborough House in London.
She is R. Tamira L.V. Browne.
The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work celebrate outstanding adolescents and young adults aged 15–29 from Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Americas, Africa and Europe, who are leading initiatives ranging from poverty alleviation to peace-building.
This year’s group of finalists are recognised for spearheading projects that will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals – a set of 17 global targets that governments have committed to achieve by 2030.
Browne was nominated by the Girl Guides Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) to serve as the CARICOM Youth Ambassador (CYA) for SVG. She participated in a financial literacy training-of-trainers programme organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in The Bahamas.
Following the programme, she trained 120 young people recruited in a youth empowerment service programme in the Girl Guides Association.
She also developed a series of guides on entrepreneurship and empowerment.
She was nominated for her work to help her country attain Sustainable Development Goal 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth
Browne is among four finalists from the Americas, the others being Canadian Ishita Aggarwal, Tricia Teekah of Guyana and Michelle Thomas of Jamaica.
Other finalists include the founder of a youth-led organisation in Papua New Guinea that uses sport as a tool to end violence against women, and the owner of a Nigerian company that uses “geo-mapping.
The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work celebrate outstanding adolescents and young adults aged 15–29 from Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Americas, Africa and Europe, who are leading initiatives ranging from poverty alleviation to peace-building.
Katherine Ellis, Director of Youth at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said: “Through their own initiative, young leaders in communities across the world are delivering on the ambitious agenda set by governments on everything from eliminating hunger to protecting the environment.
“All of the outstanding finalists recognised today have demonstrated that young people are central to bringing forward positive change. Through these awards, we seek to celebrate their achievements and inspire others to follow in their footsteps, and encourage high level support for youth-led development efforts.”
The finalists were chosen by a panel of judges including representatives of Commonwealth High Commissions, Commonwealth organisations and young leaders.
The Commonwealth Young Person of the Year will be announced on March 15alongside regional young persons of the year for Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Americas, Africa and Europe.
The shortlisted finalists hail from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, SVG, Uganda and United Kingdom.
One of the judges, Angelique Pouponneau, Vice-Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Council, commented that “each of the youth awardees’ stories has brought inspiration and faith that today and tomorrow are in good hands with young people as equal partners of development.”