Deadline: 17-Oct-2025
Entries are now open for the Commonwealth Youth Awards to recognise and celebrate young people (aged 15 – 29) in the Commonwealth who are spearheading impactful, sustainable development work in their communities.
The main objectives of the Commonwealth Youth Awards are to celebrate Youth Impact on the SDGs, to shine a spotlight on the exceptional efforts of young people who are actively shaping a fairer, more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future, especially through their contributions to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to encourage Youth-Led Development, to foster an environment that encourages and sustains investments in youth-led development initiatives, empowering young leaders to drive change in their communities, to showcase Talent and Creativity, to illustrate the depth and breadth of talent, commitment, and creativity among young people across the Commonwealth by sharing nominees’ success stories, thereby inspiring others, to inspire Excellence, to encourage young people to aim high and take initiative by recognizing and promoting high standards of service and leadership at community, national, regional, and international levels, and to promote the Role of Youth in Media for Development, to highlight and support the critical role young communicators play in advancing the SDGs by recognizing outstanding journalism and communications that contribute to specifically building free, democratic, and inclusive societies, in partnership with Commonwealth Association.
Awards will be decided based on the level of impact, level of innovation, quality of achievement, quality of the evidence provided, and sustainability. There will be four finalists for each Commonwealth region, with the top entries receiving a Regional Winner Award. The top Regional Winner will be named the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year. The 20 Regional Finalists will each receive a £1,000 grant, a trophy, and a certificate. The five Regional Winners will receive an additional £2,000, for a total of £3,000, and the Pan-Commonwealth Winner will receive an additional £2,000, for a total of £5,000. In partnership with the Commonwealth Association, the inaugural Patsy Robertson Award for Outstanding Communications Skills in Advancing Community Development and Peace will also be offered, with the winner receiving £1,000, a trophy, and a certificate.
Organised and delivered by the Commonwealth Youth Programme, the awards recognise outstanding young people aged 15-29 from the 56 member countries. The nominee must have been engaged in development work for more than 12 months, either in a professional or voluntary capacity, and be a Commonwealth citizen with development work taking place in a Commonwealth member country. Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone who can accurately describe their work. For the Patsy Robertson Award for Outstanding Communications Skills in Advancing Community Development and Peace, additional criteria apply: applicants must be a young journalist or writer (including editors, reporters, photojournalists, webcasters, activists, commentators, broadcasters, bloggers, podcasters and streamers), provide samples of their relevant work and professional references, and showcase how their work advances the SDGs, particularly SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Winners will be officially announced during Commonwealth Week in March 2026. The deadline for applications is 17 October 2025.
For more information, visit CYC.
