The award in memory of the late Princess of Wales is meant for young people involved in social action or humanitarian efforts.
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A seventeen-year-old Indian student from Goa in Dubai, Paloma Viegas, has been awarded the Diana Award for her work on mental health in schools. She runs a website to promote awareness about mental well-being.
The award in memory of the late Princess of Wales is meant for young people involved in social action or humanitarian efforts.
“I am truly honoured to be celebrating your work, your commitment to change-making, and the vital role that you have taken on representing a new generation of humanitarianism.”
— Prince Harry
It recognised Viegas, who aspires to become a lawyer, as an innovation leader for the support she has shown to fellow students to express their ideas.
Prince Harry, Diana’s son, addressed the winners via a video. “I am truly honoured to be celebrating your work, your commitment to change-making, and the vital role that you have taken on representing a new generation of humanitarianism,” he said.
“Our mum believed that young people have the power to change the world. She believed in your strength because she saw it day in and day out and in the faces of young people exactly like you, she witnessed a boundless enthusiasm and passion.”
The Diana Award is given to people aged nine to 25 in honour of their social action or humanitarian work.
Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award congratulated all award recipients from the UK and around the globe.
“We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens.
For over twenty years, The Diana Award has valued and invested in young people encouraging them to continue to make positive change in their communities and the lives of others.”
Prince Harry, Diana’s son, addressed the winners via a video. “I am truly honoured to be celebrating your work, your commitment to change-making, and the vital role that you have taken on representing a new generation of humanitarianism,” he said.
Princess Diana was known to have championed various humanitarian causes, including working for children suffering from AIDS, animal protection, and poverty, among others, around the world during her lifetime.
At this year’s virtual ceremony, several young Indians were also part of this coveted list of humanitarians. This year also marked the 60 th birth anniversary of Princess Diana
Akarsh Shroff
Through SPARK, this 20-year-old student from BITS Pilani has helped donate oxygen concentrators to hospitals, among other things, after raising over Rs 40 lakh for COVID relief.
Akarsh started his journey in 2018 when he co-founded S.P.A.R.K. in Bengaluru. Since then, with a team of 500+ volunteers, he has co-ordinated over 16,000 hours of volunteering at 11 centres, through four initiatives.
Chaitanya Prabhu
Mumbai-based Prabhu is the founder of Mark Your Presence — a non-profit and non-political organisation, which works to turn every institution into a voter-friendly campus.
The organisation enrols all citizens above the age of 18 to help them participate in elections. He was able to successfully register over 10,000 voters in the last general elections and assembly elections in India.
Seher Taneja
New Delhi resident and Class 12 student Seher has been sharing ‘The Tale of Humankind’, a youth leadership initiative to enable, connect, and engage youth advocates by starting conversations around key issues and taking them from ideas to action since 2020.
“As the daughter of COVID warriors, it wasn’t easy to manage. It was indeed a difficult phase, but I rose to the occasion to lead change within my community.
Sia Godika:
Through her foundation ‘Sole Warriors’ this 14-year-old from Bengaluru refurbishes old footwear and distributes them among the underprivileged.
“Over the past 18 months, we have successfully collected over 15,000 pairs of footwear from 4,000 households A network of 50 volunteers and eight supporting organisations helped make this possible,” she says.
Aditi Gera:
Twenty-year-old Aditi Gera from Madhya Pradesh founded Empowerette in 2019 to bridge the inequality gap against women by increasing opportunities for young rural girls. The organisation consists of a team of seven young girls, all aged between 19-22 years.
“The need is to build young girls’ agency by helping them grow as leaders and provide a strong support system, and we wanted to have rural girls at the forefront of shattering the glass ceiling,” Aditi says.