Founder of the Dominica Dementia Foundation, Rianna Patterson will be awarded for her work in the 2022 Commonwealth Youth Awards.
On March 16th 2022 at the official awards ceremony, she will receive the award for her outstanding efforts in raising awareness of Dementia and providing emotional support to families and caretakers.
The top finalist from each region will also be announced as the regional winner at the event. From these regional winners, one outstanding young person will become the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2022.
The ceremony will be held virtually for the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be livestreamed on the Commonwealth’s social platforms.
Organized by the Commonwealth Youth Programme, the awards recognize outstanding Commonwealth young people (aged 15-29), whose projects are transforming lives in their communities; providing practical solutions to complex problems and helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda.
Twenty extraordinary young people, including inventors, activists and entrepreneurs, from 17 countries have been announced as finalists for this year’s Commonwealth Youth Awards. Four people from the Caribbean have made the shortlist for their impressive projects promoting quality education, better healthcare, conservation, and action on climate change.
Apart from Dominica the other regional countries include Trinidad and Tobago: A leading youth arts outreach scheme supporting kids (including those at risk of radicalization) through the arts, Antigua and Barbuda: A group supporting the recovery and effective management of protected areas and Belize: A women-led recycling project creating a circular trash economy.
The call for nominations was announced on International Youth Day on 12 August 2021. The judging panel included high commissioners, development experts and youth leaders from across the Commonwealth.
More than 1000 entries were received this year – the highest ever recorded. The finalists were selected across each of the award’s regional categories (Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe & Canada, and the Pacific) following a rigorous judging process to narrow the field down to 20 finalists from whom the Commonwealth Young person of year 2022 will be chosen.
All 20 finalists will each receive a trophy, certificate and £1,000 to expand the impact of their projects. Each regional winner will receive £3,000 and the overall pan-Commonwealth winner will take home a total of £5,000.
To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Commonwealth Secretariat has partnered with the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) to offer an additional prize of £40,000 in funding to one project, delivered over the course of two years.
The selected winner will also be announced at the official awards ceremony. They will be enrolled onto QCT’s Platinum Jubilee Fund programme and given access to coaching and development opportunities to help their project flourish.
Speaking ahead of the announcement, the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said every year she is blown away by our youth award winners’ talent, resilience, dedication, and tenacity.
“This year, we recognize the skill, imagination and dedication of young people in the face of the immense challenges created during the COVID-19 pandemic and at COP26 in Glasgow, I was very impressed to see former youth awards finalists such as Brianna Fruean and Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti leading vital conversations about climate change. It reminded me of the importance of continuing to put the efforts of our amazing young people in the global spotlight.”
She stated sixty per cent of the 2.5 billion people in the Commonwealth are under the age of 30 and the Commonwealth Charter makes clear the active role and contributions of young people in advancing the values that bind our family of nations together.
“I am delighted to recognise a new cohort of young innovators and changemakers as we pull together to realize the Commonwealth’s shared goal of a peaceful and prosperous future for all,” Scotland said.
Congratulations Rianna!!! Well deserved
Congratulations to you Miss Patterson for your diligent efforts in bringing well needed attention to this disease. A significant number of our elderly people are coming down with Dementia. The family and relatives of these victims grow frustrated and intolerant with them and tend to neglect or ill-treat these hapless citizens.
Hope you become the overall winner so as to bring more awareness to this dreaded disease. Good luck!