The annual Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work recognises young people whose commitment to development work within a Commonwealth country has made a difference to the lives of others. The Awards celebrate the role of young people as nation builders and partners in development and leaders working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Awards also offer an opportunity to highlight and share their contributions, inspire others and receive international recognition and support for their development work.
The Commonwealth Youth Programme is therefore pleased to announce the launch of the Commonwealth Youth Awards 2021. We are looking for outstanding young people who have demonstrated the importance of youth engagement in the key areas of development, including democracy, peace building, human rights, environmental preservation and education. For this year’s cycle, the Awards will also include special recognition for young people who have made outstanding efforts to tackle development challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 Judges will select 20 finalists who will each receive a trophy, a certificate and £1,000.
 Of the 20, five regional winners will be chosen and awarded an additional £2,000.
 The overall winner will receive the title of Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2021 and a total cash prize of £5,000.
 The finalists and winners will be announced during Commonwealth Week in March 2021.
This year, the Awards have also been expanded and nominees can be entered into one of five regional categories:
1. Africa;
2. Asia;
3. Caribbean;
4. Europe and Canada; and
5. Pacific.
To ensure a varied selection of nominees from each and every Commonwealth country, I kindly encourage you to share this information accordingly with your networks and stakeholders. Nominations may be self-nominated or nominated by someone else, so we strongly encourage all to consider making an application.
To be eligible for an Award, nominees must:
 be a Commonwealth citizen;
 be aged 15 to 29 years as of 31 December 2020;
 have been engaged in development work for at least 12 months as a professional or volunteer; and
 show a strong performance history of implementing impactful development work and contributing to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Please find enclosed a link to the 2020’s Award Finalists and Winners from across the Commonwealth and details of the outstanding development work that has earnt them recognition.
Nominations are now open at https://commonwealth-youthexcellence.awardsplatform.com and the deadline is 23:59 BST 21st October 2020. For more information on the Commonwealth Youth Awards, please see the attached Concept Note.
For any further information, please email the Commonwealth Youth Programme at youth@commonwealth.int.