NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR COMMONWEALTH YOUTH WORKER AWARDS 2016
Nominations
are now open for the Commonwealth Youth Worker Awards 2016, which will
recognise youth workers who utilise sport and arts programmes to engage
and empower young people across the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Youth Worker Awards celebrate the positive impact of
youth workers on young people’s lives, their communities and their
societies. Youth workers can be found in a broad range of civil society
and voluntary organisations as well as government ministries and youth
departments.
Past awardees have worked with at-risk youth, in grassroots
organisations, civil society organisations, in schools and youth clubs
and also in senior levels of government.
The awards scheme was launched in 2013 as part of Commonwealth Youth Work Week,
an annual initiative by the Commonwealth Secretariat that highlights
the contribution and achievements of youth work, youth workers, and
youth organisations throughout the 53 Commonwealth member countries.
The theme for Commonwealth Youth Work Week 2016 is ‘Empowering young
people through sport and arts’, acknowledging the intentional use by
youth workers of sport, and creative and innovative techniques, to
deliver effective youth empowerment programmes. As young people
participate in these programmes, they build personal, social and
intellectual capacities that enhance their contribution in the home,
school, community, country and the wider world.
Katherine Ellis, Director of Youth at the Commonwealth Secretariat,
stated, “Sport and arts play a critical role in engaging young people,
developing leadership, and enhancing participation in the community.
They inspire young people, including many who struggle with mainstream
education and programmes, and instil the belief that it is possible to
achieve and succeed in different ways. Innovative approaches provide
spaces for young leaders to emerge, and for young people to test their
own capacity to transform the world around them. It is critical that the
youth workers who deliver this vital work achieve greater recognition
for their role, and receive resources and training to maximise their
already considerable impact on societies.”
The nominations period will close on 31 August 2016, after which
finalists will be shortlisted from each Commonwealth region - Africa,
Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, and the Pacific – with Youth
Worker of the Year named for each region.
As part of an awards ceremony in London on 10 November 2016, the
overall Commonwealth Youth Worker of the Year, drawn from the regional
winners, will be named. The 2015 Commonwealth Youth Worker of the Year
was Victor Ochen of Uganda, founder of the African Youth Initiative
Network and a former Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
If you know a youth worker who is doing great work using sport or the
arts, then nominate them by completing the official form, available at commonwealth-youthworkers.awardsplatform.com/
Nominations will be assessed according to:
- Impact on young people’s lives - evidence of how the youth worker has made an impact on the lives of young people
- Impact on the wider community - the impact the youth worker’s intervention had on the community and families
- Quality of their interventions - evidence of the use of youth work principles, methods and sustainable approaches
- Innovation and learning – evidence of creativity in overcoming the challenges of delivery and in application of youth work theory
How do you plan to celebrate Youth Work Week? Send us your news,
messages and photos via Twitter using the hashtag #cwyouth or
#YWW2016 to @commonwealthsec and @ComSecYouth or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/CommonwealthSec and www.facebook.com/ComSecYouth.
Find out more about Commonwealth Youth Work Week 2016
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