The Youth Services Unit (YSU) is pleased to welcome nominations for the 2024 Proud of Them Youth Recognition Awards.
Nominations for the annual awards programme are now open and will close on Friday 6th September 2024. All members of the public, parents, teachers, youth leaders and youth, are encouraged to submit their nominations or self-nominations for young Caymanians who have excelled across the variety of nomination categories that include: Academics, Sports, Community Service, Business, Career and Culture. For more information and to make a nomination, the public is encouraged to visit www.youthservices.ky/proudofthem .
The awards programme, which now inducts 15 youth honourees annually, has been growing steadily over the 11 years since its inception. Alumni include Olympians, successful business owners, internationally recognised performance artists, service organisation leaders, technological innovators; amongst the impressive host of youth who are proud additions to the list of honourees.
To date, the programme has highlighted around 160 youth between the ages of 10 to 25 years old, who have been featured on billboards around Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. Last year, significant enhancements to the programme were marked with a new rebranded colour scheme, updates to scoring protocol, an online form, and the introduction of a new category to acknowledge two (2) Rising Stars.
Youth Minister, Hon. Isaac Rankine noted, “Building on these recognition measures is a key tool for uplifting our youth. This is a government-led initiative to show them that their hard work has made an impact on our community. It has not gone unnoticed because they are inspiring the action and momentum we need to secure the future of our islands.”
In 2023, the programme received its first private sponsorships from Greenlight RE and the CICSA Co-operative Credit Union Ltd., along with other private sector sponsors for the awarding categories.
Head of Youth Services Unit, Mrs. Mellony Bryan-Wa g a d, “W app a these kinds of public-private partnerships, because it truly takes a village to bring this campaign to life. Videos, billboards, the honorarium and the gala help us to cement the prestige of this national award. Cayma ’ y a x g a f l ad a d visionaries. W d pp a ma y l l f p g amm mak a la g mpa .”
The Proud of Them Awards Gala is hosted annually in November and will be broadcast on the CIG YouTube channel. The public is encouraged to nominate any deserving young person before the Friday 6th September closing date. Interested sponsors or members of the public seeking more information, can also contact the Youth Services Unit at info.ysu@gov.ky .
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