Today 184 inspirational children and young people were presented with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts – The Diana Award. The first virtual ceremony for The Awards took place today, on their YouTube channel.
Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.
These exceptional young people have this year demonstrated their ability to inspire and mobilise their own generation to service their communities through campaigning, volunteering, fundraising, fighting injustice or overcoming extreme life challenges. Although their causes and backgrounds are varied, what they all have in common is that they are changing their communities and the world.
The Duke of Sussex, on behalf of him and his brother, surprised the changemakers with a congratulatory video message and to give a special mention to those people who have been awarded for their work on issues related to race and injustice. In particular, The Duke highlighted the work of 24-year-old James Frater from London, UK, who is tackling racial inequality by creating initiatives to increase the representation of black students at university.
The Vamps, James McVey hosted the 2020 Diana Award’s, which saw support from a host of celebrities who honoured young changemakers from all over the globe. Virtually presenting and surprising the young people for their work were The Duke of Sussex, YolanDa Brown, Miranda Hart, Steph McGover, Liam Payne, Will Poulter, Dan Smith – Bastille, Cel Spellman, Dame Emma Thompson DBE, Sam and Mark, Hacker the Dog.
The Duke of Sussex “I am so incredibly proud to be part of these awards as they honour the legacy of my mother and bring out the very best in people like you. You are all doing such incredible work and at a time of great uncertainty, you have found the power and inspiration inside of you to make a positive mark on the world, and I love that The Diana Award is able to help you do it. I know that my mother has been an inspiration to many of you and I can assure you she would have been fighting your corner. Right now, we’re seeing situations around the world where division, isolation and anger are dominating as pain and trauma come to the surface. But I see the greatest hope in people like you and I’m confident about the worlds future and its ability to heal because it is in your hands.”
Liam Payne “Young people are the future of our society so for me it’s important to recognise their achievements and the contributions they’re making. When we celebrate young people it puts the often-invisible social change work in the spotlight and I’m proud to be supporting The Diana Award and the young changemakers who are making the world a better place for all of us.”
The Diana Award 2020 virtual ceremony took place on 1 July 2020 , you can view the full ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dianaaward