2021 LEGACY AWARD_

Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome aged 9, Alex faced many challenges both physically and mentally. He was dismissed as a ‘naughty child' by teachers and moved between several different schools.

From losing her father and leaving her home country of Zimbabwe, to feeling unsupported in her studies while juggling her part-time job at McDonald’s, Vee has overcome her fair share of obstacles.

Vivi has had endometriosis and dysmenorrhea since she was young and was diagnosed with an ovarian tumour aged 17.

Around the world, students' access to resources, advice and support varies dramatically. To Zubair, this seemed grossly unfair, and so at just 16 years old he decided to set up a blog to make learning resources available, completely free of charge.

While in his fourth year of medical school, Tunde was caring for a woman in labour when she started to bleed out.

At the age of 13, Sia was concerned that people in her neighbourhood were not wearing footwear. She noticed adults and children with bruised and swollen feet and saw how construction labourers, families and street vendors were all working barefoot in hazardous conditions.

Roudy is a Kurdish activist from Afrin who was forced to marry and have a child while still a minor in Syria.

Hiya saw from a young age the barriers and misogyny in society. In 2017, aged 14, Hiya launched ‘Fundraising for the Girl Child’, applying social entrepreneurship to elevate, educate, and empower girls to close the educational and economic gender gap.

During childhood, Jahin’s best friend was forced into a child marriage. Then, in third grade, Jahin’s friends were attacked by a group of 25 men during a violent political protest.

After attempting to take her own life following years of depression and an eating disorder, Lottie became determined to destigmatise discussions around mental health through education and raising awareness in her school and the wider community.

Hannah lives with probable Mitochondrial Encephalopathy, which is a terminal illness. Her work with ‘Together for Short Lives’ means she has spoken in parliament, medical conferences, and various NHS collaborations about her personal experiences of life-limiting illness.

Diana grew up living below the poverty line, working multiple jobs from sixth grade onwards to support her family.

Christina is a passionate activist with ‘Bite Back’, where she fights for a fairer and healthier food system. As the elected chair of the youth board, she shares her own experience of living off free school meals to inspire others.

At the age of 13, Carys founded ‘Carys Cares’, an organisation promoting the rights of people with Down’s syndrome through sharing their multi-talented potentials.

Her own struggle against anorexia motivated Ally to raise awareness of eating disorders, body dysmorphia and illness through the power of art.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arian saw his home country of Italy struggling to cope. He made a selfless decision to go back to help on the frontlines, working tirelessly as a volunteer on ambulances to support Italy’s overwhelmed healthcare system.

Following the murder of a local journalist in Derry, Aodhán set up the social media page ‘Derry Footage’ to share stories and encourage other young people to speak up against wrongdoings.

Aged 15, Anna was accepted as a volunteer Journalist with ‘First News’, where she educated over 2,000,000 young readers on the core social issues affecting them most.

Angelo witnessed the harmful effects of armed conflict as a child and has been campaigning for peace ever since. In 2009, he co-founded the ‘Network for Peaceful Coexistence’, offering workshops on peaceful conflict resolution to young Columbians.

After experiencing respiratory infections and asthma as a result of severe air pollution in Delhi, Aditya founded ‘Plant a Million Trees’, an initiative that started off with him planting a few saplings alone and sharing the photos on social media.