Some days ago, three young Pakistanis were honoured on with the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards at the Buckingham Palace, with the UK’s Elizabeth II bestowing the accolades to the youth in a festive ceremony.
Haroon Yasin, Hassan Mujtaba Zaidi, and Mahnoor Syed are the three young Pakistanis who made their motherland proud with their big achievement.
The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards are given on the basis of the youth’s community services and the awards recognise exceptional people between the ages 18 to 29, across the Commonwealth, who are taking a lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives.
Supporting underprivileged people in her community, Syed’s start-up ‘Spread the Word’ began when she partnered with seven schools to hold extra-curricular workshops for students on issues such as bullying, child abuse, and mental and physical health.
‘Spread the Word’ now has 300 volunteers from all over Pakistan.
Yasin, founded Orenda, dedicated to providing children from underprivileged backgrounds a chance to receive a good education. With a mission to build a dynamic education model to help young children develop, his project teaches Pakistani children the national curriculum through an engaging digital education model.
Zaidi uses art to help educate marginalised young people in Pakistan. His creation is Discovering New Artists (DNA), which offers free art training, as well as primary and secondary education, to students who are unable to afford school fees.
Britain’s newly weds, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were among those who greeted the winners of the special youth leadership award. He also addressed the “future leaders” from Commonwealth countries at the reception where they were presented with a medal for outstanding contributions.
Launched back in 2014 by Princes William and Harry, the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards programme is now in its fourth and final year and many of the previous winners have had the privilege of meeting Prince Harry, both in London and in their home countries across the Commonwealth.
Winners of the prestigious award receive a unique package of training, mentoring, and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK, during which they collect their award from Her Majesty The Queen.