thebahamasweekly.com - Bahamian to receive Queen's Young Leader Award

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Bahamian to receive Queen's Young Leader Award
Jan 16, 2015 - 12:08:04 AM

Alicia Wallace from The Bahamas is one of 60 young people from across the Commonwealth who are being recognised as exceptional leaders in their community. These 60 young people are the first ever to receive a prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award.

The Award, which will be presented in London by Her Majesty The Queen in June, and is part of The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, celebrates the achievements of young people who are taking the lead to transform the lives of others and make a lasting difference in their communities.

This year’s Award winners, aged between 18 and 29 and who come from all over the Commonwealth, are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of different issues including; education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.

Alicia Wallace, 29 from Nassau, has been selected in recognition of her work as director of Hollaback! Bahamas, which works to end street harassment, and also as co-founder of the Coalition to End Gender-based Violence and Discrimination.

Aaron Hape, a Queen’s Young Leaders Advisory Panel member from New Zealand said, “It was a truly humbling experience to see the kind of work that young people are carrying out across the Commonwealth, and across a diverse range of issues. As a panel member I feel very proud to have been given the opportunity to work with the Programme and be part of selecting the very best from an already amazing pool of talented young people."

The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme is a new initiative established by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth. Over the next four years the Programme will support thousands of young people. In addition to the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards, the Programme will provide grants to support organisations in selected countries across the Commonwealth that work with young people to transform their lives.

Dr Astrid Bonfield CBE, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust said, “The leadership of talented young people in all spheres of life can transform communities and societies for the better. What the 60 young people announced today have achieved is remarkable and their plans for the future are truly inspiring. The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme is poised to unlock the potential of this diverse and talented group of young people and we are delighted to be supporting them to go further and achieve more.”

To see a full list of Award winners and Highly Commended runners up, and read more about their stories please visit www.queensyoungleaders.com.

Alicia Wallace is the director of Hollaback!, an organisation that works to end street harassment in the Bahamas, and co-founder of the Coalition to End Gender-based Violence and Discrimination. She is also launching a new 16-week programme to provide vital life skills education and mentoring to local high school students. Participants will have the opportunity to hear about and discuss a range of issues from personal finance and relationships to entrepreneurship and health care. The student approach is simple, according to Alicia, “It’s about engaging them with education and empowering them with education.”

Alicia first worked as a volunteer support worker for young women who were at risk of homelessness in Canada whilst studying for her degree. This exposure to homelessness and gender-based inequalities heightened her awareness of the problems for women in her own community upon her return home. These issues play out in everyday life and often go by unnoticed, says Alicia. “Here sexual harassment is only recognised in the work place and even then, only from the top down – so an employer to an employee, but not between two employees.”

As a child, Alicia grew up thinking she did not have a voice. Now she says, “I am no longer a quiet little girl. I am a force. My voice is powerful and I have learned to use it.”

Alicia is one of the first ever recipients of a Queen’s Young Leaders Award. The Award, which will be presented by Her Majesty The Queen in June, is part of The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, and celebrates the achievements of young people who are taking the lead to transform the lives of others and make a lasting difference in the communities.