Maldivian wins Queen’s Young Leaders Award

Maldivian woman – Safaath Ahmed Zahir – has been awarded British Queen Elizabeth II’s “Queen’s Young Leaders Award”.

Safaath was selected from among thousands of young men and women from all over the Commonwealth who applied for the honor.

Safaath, along with 45 other winners will be presented with the award in a ceremony held at Buckingham Palace in London on the coming Thursday.

Queen’s Young Leaders Award is an honor bestowed upon young individuals from Commonwealth countries who take a leading role in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference within their community.

This year’s winners have worked to support others, raise awareness and inspire change in a variety of issues including education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and improving the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Safaath will be staying in London for five days, during which time she, along with the other award winners, will visit 10 Downing Street and Twitter headquarters in UK, meet with senior executives at BBC World Service, meet Secretary General of Commonwealth Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, take part in workshops at University of Cambridge, have meetings with UK business leaders, and visit sites of social projects in UK.

British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Maldives James Dauris met with Safaath, after which he noted that the award recognized achievements of exceptional young individuals who worked hard for the betterment of their community.

“Safaath’s efforts to empower and secure recognition of the importance of women in the workforce is a great example for other aspiring young people, and is one that should encourage them to push for change with confidence,” said Dauris.

Meanwhile, Safaath herself expressed excitement at the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth and other award winners.

“I want to hear about their astounding work. I want to get to the end of the week with world-class knowledge, connections, ideas and resources that can support and encourage me in my quest to create change within the talented women of my country,” she said.

Application process to win Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2017 opens on June 24.

Young men and women between 18 – 29 years of age, dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of people living in their community are encouraged to apply for the award.