NEW DELHI: A 15-year-old boy from Delhi has received the prestigious Diana Award for going above and beyond in his daily life to create and sustain a positive change.
Ishan Kapur, a student at Wellington College (UK), has been recognised with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts - The Diana Award.
Ishan works with the Sri Ramakrishna Ashram New Delhi. He helps a local school access uniforms for marginalised girls.
Ishan devised and delivered an ambitious campaign to fundraise £5000 and collect almost 100 laptops and tablets for teachers and students, whilst also ensuring everyone had an online connection to access learning during the long nationwide lockdown.
The Diana Award was 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.
His compassion and dedication have enabled young people to continue their education despite many obstacles. Ishan is an outstanding example in his community.
"We congratulate all our new Diana Award recipients from the UK and all over the globe who are changemakers for their generation. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens. For over twenty years The Diana Award has valued and invested in young people encouraging them to continue to make positive change in their communities and lives of others," said Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award.
The award recipients have been put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognised their efforts as a positive contribution to society. Through a rigorous nomination process, these nominators had to demonstrate the nominee's impact in five key areas: Vision, Social Impact, Inspiring Others, Youth Leadership, and Service Journey.
There are 12 Diana Award Judging Panels representing each UK region or nation and a further three panels representing countries outside of the UK. Each panel consist of three judges; one young person, an education or youth work professional, and a business or government representative. The panels have an important main purpose: to determine which nominations from each UK region/nation/country will receive The Diana Award.
Nominations are judged using the Criteria Guide and Scoring Guide which have been created to measure the quality of youth social action.