Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work
Commonwealth Secretariat
Annual awards for Commonwealth citizens aged 15-29 with 12+ months of development work advancing the SDGs. 20 regional finalists get GBP 1,000; five regional winners GBP 3,000; the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year GBP 5,000. Nominations usually open 12 Aug and close 31 Oct.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Commonwealth
- Education required
- None
- Age
- from 15 up to 29 (Aged 15-29)
- Fields
- Development studies, Leadership
- Also required
- Commonwealth citizen
- Engaged in development work for at least 12 months
- Work contributes to at least one of the 17 SDGs
About this opportunity
The Commonwealth Youth Awards recognise young people whose projects contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals in their communities. Each year 20 regional finalists (four each from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Canada, and the Pacific) receive a GBP 1,000 grant, trophy and certificate; five regional winners get an additional GBP 2,000 (GBP 3,000 total); and the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year receives GBP 5,000 in total. Winners are announced during Commonwealth Week in March in London.
Nominees must be Commonwealth citizens (Ghana is a member) aged 15-29 with at least 12 months of development work. For the 2026 awards, nominations opened on International Youth Day (12 August 2025) and closed at 23:59 GMT on 31 October 2025 (977 entries). No 2027 call had been published on thecommonwealth.org as of 21 August 2026; a similar August-October window is expected.
- Level
- Any level
- Where
- United Kingdom
- Duration
- Annual award; ceremony during Commonwealth Week in March
- Number of awards
- 20 regional finalists (4 per region), 5 regional winners, 1 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year
- Difficulty
- High · about 2 weeks to prepare
Funding
Prize
- prize money
GBP 1,000 per finalist; GBP 3,000 total for regional winners; GBP 5,000 total for the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year; trophy and certificate
What you will need
- Other documents
Online nomination form describing the nominee's development work and impact; supporting evidence/referee details per the call (self-nomination rules not stated on pages fetched).
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