A young Guyanese was among those honoured by Queen Elizabeth II Thursday evening at Buckingham Palace. The local awardee was 27-year-old Samantha Sheoprashad.
Sheoprashad was honoured for her work with disadvantaged communities in Guyana. She and other outstanding youths in the Commonwealth were the recipients of The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards. His Royal Highness, Prince Harry, joined The Queen in congratulating the winners at the special ceremony.
Samantha Sheoprashad
The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards programme, now in its third and penultimate year, celebrates the achievements of some of the most exciting young change-makers from across the Commonwealth, who are all dedicated to transforming lives in their communities. From tackling bullying head-on in schools, to preserving the environment, to promoting gender equality, these young people are those who are taking the lead in driving change in their respective communities.
Guyana’s Award Winner, Sheoprashad, said: “It’s such a huge honour to receive an Award from Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of the work to help others at home. It’s been an amazing week here in the UK meeting all of the other Leaders – I’ve learnt so much and I can’t wait to put it all into practise. Being part of the Queen’s Young Leaders family is really exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future now holds.”
Prince Harry who addressed the ceremony said, ““At home and abroad, I see people – especially young people – doing incredible things…They are creative and innovative, and most importantly, they are committed to making the world a better, more optimistic, and compassionate place. That’s why I am honoured to welcome this year’s award winners here tonight. The Queen’s Young Leaders award recognises what these incredible young people have achieved – not for themselves, but for others – for their peers, for their communities, for their environment, and for those less fortunate.”
The Queen’s Young Leaders programme was established in 2014 to help talented young leaders to realise their potential and achieve even greater success in the future that will benefit people’s lives across the Commonwealth for generations to come.
The 2017 Queen’s Young Leaders awardees.
As part of the Awards programme, The Queen’s Young Leaders, including Guyana’s Sheoprashad, gain unique access to training, mentoring and networking designed to improve their leadership skills. Ahead of receiving their Award from The Queen, this year’s Award Winners attended a reception at 10 Downing Street, visited the UK headquarters of global social media company Facebook, and met with senior executives at the BBC World Service. They also met the Commonwealth Secretary-General, took part in workshops at the University of Cambridge, had meetings with UK business leaders, and visited projects that are changing the lives of vulnerable people in the UK.
The search for the 2018 Queen’s Young Leaders is now on and applications are invited. If you or someone you know is doing exceptional work in their community apply or nominate them at www.queensyoungleaders.com