Sri Lanka winner to receive young leadership award from the Queen

Thursday, 10 December 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Untitled-5 A young person from Sri Lanka is one of 60 young people from across the Commonwealth who are being recognised as exceptional leaders in their community. These 60 young people will receive a prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award.

The Award, which will be presented in London by the Queen in 2016, and is part of The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, celebrates the achievements of young people who are taking the lead to transform the lives of others and make a lasting difference in their communities.

This year’s Award winners, aged between 18 and 29 and who come from all over the Commonwealth, are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of different issues including; education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.

27 year old Nushelle de Silva from Sri Lanka has been selected in recognition of her work on peace and reconciliation projects.

“I was deeply affected by my country’s civil war, so I now use the arts to generate dialogue between ethnically diverse youths. In 2012, I founded Building Bridges, a series of weekly arts workshops, to encourage dialogue between young people in recently rehabilitated communities. I am so honoured to be part of the Queen’s Young Leaders programme,” Nushelle de Silva said.

The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was established in 2014 by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth. Over the next three years the Programme will support thousands of young people to achieve their goals.

Dr. Astrid Bonfield, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust said: “Once again 60 incredible young people from around the Commonwealth have shown strength, leadership, empathy and drive. Some of our winners are just embarking on their leadership journey and others are more established. Either way, we recognise not only what these amazing young people have achieved, but also their potential in changing people’s lives for the better in the countries and communities in which they live.”