Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Diana Award is a global honour recognising young social activists aged 16-25 leading the way in improving quality education, good health and wellbeing, reducing inequalities, and tackling climate change.
Nominations for the 2026 Diana Award will open in October 2025 and remain open for one month.
Nominee Criteria
We are looking for young people who meet the following criteria:
Nominator Criteria
To submit a nomination for the Diana Award:
For full details on how to nominate a young person, please refer to the updated Diana Award Nomination Guidelines, available from August 2025.
To ensure fair and global representation, we use the following selection approach [coming soon].
Please note: Only one nomination per young person will be considered. If multiple nominations are received, only the first nomination will be reviewed.
At The Diana Award, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct. We reserve the right to revoke an award should our Code of Conduct be breached. This includes, but is not limited to, any violations related to safeguarding, ethical misconduct, or actions that undermine the values and reputation of The Diana Award.
In line with Charity Commission guidance, The Diana Award ensures that any decision to revoke an award is made in the best interests of the charity, following a fair and transparent process, and with full consideration of safeguarding responsibilities, ethical conduct, and reputational risk. We also reserve the right to seek advice and support from the Charity Commission at any stage, should further guidance be required. As a charity, we have a responsibility to act with care and diligence, protecting the integrity of our programmes and the trust placed in us by our beneficiaries, supporters, and the wider public.
“This is such an honour to get your efforts recognised on such global stage. I'm very glad to be awarded and excited to use this recognition to enlarge my network and strengthen my credibility to make global impact.”
- 2024 Diana Award Recipient
“It has strongly boosted my confidence as a person because not only did the Diana Award acknowledge my service, it has acknowledged me as a person which has made me feel deeply understood and stand up to my worth.”
- 2024 Diana Award Recipient
“For me, this award isn’t just a recognition; it's a motivation to continue creating spaces where stories help us see through others’ eyes and foster deeper empathy.”
- 2024 Diana Award Recipient
Receiving the Diana Award is a prestigious honour that celebrates a young person’s lasting impact through social action and humanitarian work.
Diana Award Recipients are recognised and celebrated through:
Being honoured with the Diana Award marks a moment of global recognition – and the opportunity to connect with a wider movement of young people working for a better future.
Young people aged 16-25 who have been leading sustained social action or humanitarian work for at least 12 months can be nominated for the Diana Award. Their work should align with one or more of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs): Quality Education, Health & Wellbeing, Reduced Inequalities, or Environment/Climate Change.
We’ve introduced this change to better focus and strengthen the impact of the Diana Award. By aligning nominations with four key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Quality Education, Good Health and Wellbeing, Reduced Inequalities, and Climate Action - we’re better able to recognise and celebrate young people addressing some of the world’s most urgent challenges.
This update also helps us ensure consistency in the judging process and spotlight the collective power of youth-led action across global priority areas.
If you’ve submitted nominations in the past, we understand this may be a change - we encourage you to use the updated guidance to help align your nomination with the new themes.
No. Self-nominations are not accepted. A nominator must know the young person in a professional capacity and be able to provide evidence of their impact, along with contact details for two additional supporters.
Nominations for the 2026 Diana Award will open in October 2025 and will remain open for one month.
Up to 200 exceptional young people are honoured annually, representing a wide range of communities, cultures, and causes from around the world.
We use a structured, transparent selection approach to ensure fair and global representation. Every nomination is reviewed against consistent criteria by an external judging panel of industry professionals, and only one nomination per nominee is considered.
The criteria is outlined fully in the nominations guide.
Yes. The Diana Award is a global honour. Since 2020, we’ve recognised young social activists in over 80 countries across six continents.
Nominators must submit three pieces of supporting evidence that clearly demonstrate the nominee’s social action and its impact. This can include testimonials, photos, press coverage, project outcomes, or other forms of documentation. All evidence must be in English and meet the word/character limit.
Yes. You can nominate more than one young person, as long as each nominee meets the criteria and you are able to provide separate, complete nominations for each individual. However, only one nomination per young person will be reviewed.
No. The Diana Award recognises individual young people. If several members of a group have made outstanding contributions, each individual must be nominated separately.
We provide a comprehensive Nomination Guide with detailed instructions, examples, and tips to help you submit a strong nomination. If you have any questions or need further support, our team is also here to help.
Nominating is simple, please head to the Diana Award Nomination Centre to complete the online nomination form. Please note that we do not accept posted or email nominations. For full details on how to nominate a young person, please refer to the Diana Award Nomination Guidelines.
All nominations are first reviewed by The Diana Award team to ensure they meet our eligibility criteria. Eligible nominations are then passed on to our external Judging Panel made up of volunteer experts from around the world for formal assessment.
Following this, successful nominations undergo additional due diligence including safeguarding, risk and media checks before being finalised.
Nominators will be notified of the outcome of their submission via email.
Recipients are recognised with:
Yes - in many cases, informing the nominee can help you gather the most accurate and detailed information.
Please note: if the nominee is successful, their award will be under strict embargo until the official release of the Virtual Diana Award Ceremony and Roll of Honour. This helps preserve the prestige and excitement of receiving the Diana Award.
We receive a high volume of nominations from across the globe. Each one highlights inspiring examples of youth-led social action, and we are continually moved by the passion, impact, and commitment of the young people nominated.
Unfortunately, we are not able to recognise every nominee with a Diana Award. However, we encourage you to consider re-nominating the individual when nominations reopen at a future date.
We take concerns about Diana Award Recipients and nominees seriously. If you wish to raise a complaint or share information about a current or past recipient, please email nominations@diana-award.org.uk
This allows us to review the situation thoroughly and take appropriate action in line with our safeguarding and verification processes.
