Her Majesty the Queen will present a Queen’s Young Leaders Award to an exceptional young person from Malawi at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London ?on Thursday 29th June. The Award celebrates inspiring young people from all over the Commonwealth who are dedicated to driving change in their communities and beyond.
The 2017 Award winner, is 28-Year old Virginia Khunguni. She has been recognized by The Queen for her commitment to leading initiatives to end cultural practices that hold back the advancement of young women.
Virginia will be representing Malawi as she joins winners from across the Commonwealth in the UK, for a programme of inspiring meetings, networking opportunities, and bespoke training and mentoring.
These are all designed to help the young awardees to develop as leaders and work with ever greater impact to transform people’s lives.
Selected from a competitive process where thousands of young people from all over the Commonwealth, applied to be a Queen’s Young Leader, Virginia Khunguni said: “Being a Queen’s Young Leader will inspire many young girls to rise up, and be the change that their society needs.”
The 2017 Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners are working to support others, raise awareness, and inspire change on a variety of issues from tackling bullying in schools, to preserving the environment, to promoting gender equality.
Before receiving their Queen’s Young Leaders Award at Buckingham Palace, the winners will visit the residence of U.K. Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, and take part in masterclasses at the BBC World Service and the UK headquarters of global social media company Facebook.
The awardees will also meet the Commonwealth Secretary-General, take part in workshops at the University of Cambridge, meet senior executives from some of the U.K’s UK’s Organisations, and visit projects that are changing the lives of vulnerable people in the U.K.
The programme will finish with the launch of the first ever search for the Queen’s Young Leaders.
The application process to become a Queen’s Young Leader of 2018 opens ?at 09:00 p.m. BST on Thursday 29th June 2017, and this year is the last chance for young people to apply to become a Queen’s Young Leader.
?The programme is looking for people aged between 18 and 29, who are dedicated to creating positive changes to the lives of people in Malawi, to join this important community of change-makers from across the Commonwealth.
Dr Astrid Bonfield CBE, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust said: “The Queen’s Young Leaders of 2017 are doing truly remarkable work within their communities. Their actions are having a positive impact not only on those around them but also by setting in motion positive change that will last for generations to come. The residential programme is an opportunity for the 2017 Queen’s Young Leaders to come together for the first time, to foster partnerships and share ideas about how they can work together as a group to improve people’s lives all over the Commonwealth. We are delighted that these young people are being recognized for their life-changing work by Her Majesty the Queen, and we hope that their time in the U.K. will inspire, and enable them to pursue their work for others on an ever greater scale.”
Award details
Each year from 2014 to 2018, 60 exceptional young people will be selected to receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award and become ‘Queen’s Young Leaders’ – one for every year that The Queen had served as Head of the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee.
The Maravi Post heartily congratulate Ms Virginia Khunguni!
