The 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM, opened on Wednesday in London as some outstanding youths, aged 15 -29, were honoured with Commonwealth Youth Awards at the Summit. The awards recognize young people whose innovative projects have had a significant impact on their communities. This year’s awards celebrated young people’s contribution towards a fairer, more sustainable, more secure and more prosperous future for the Commonwealth: the four sub-themes of the Summit that is taking place this week in London.
Usman Iftikhar was named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year and received his award from Prince Harry. “The Commonwealth is such an amazing platform to share our ideas and perspectives,” he said.
Usman, 27, was also the regional winner for the Pacific. He founded Catalysr, a startup incubator that enables migrants and refugees in Australia to start their own businesses and create a sustainable future for themselves and their communities. The regional winners were presented with their awards by the UK’s Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds.
The regional winner for Africa and Europe, Sherifah Tumusiime, 29, is from Uganda. She founded Zimba Women, a social enterprise that helps underserved women get internet access. She said she was deeply humbled to be honoured by the award: “it’s not just East Africa or Africa that I’m working with now, it’s global.”
The 20 finalists span every region of the Commonwealth and were shortlisted from more than 400 applications from around the world. The awards are coordinated by the Commonwealth Youth Program.
The finalists received a grant of £1,000 each to continue their development work. The Regional Young Persons of the Year received £3,000 each while the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year received £5,000.
