Giving back to society should be embedded in us at an early age, says HH Sayyidah Basma al Said, founder of Not Alone Campaign and Whispers of Serenity Clinic and was the first Arab judge for The Diana Awards.
The Holy month of Ramadhan reminds everyone of this factor and comes as an opportunity every year.
In 2024, HH Sayyidah Basma was again part of the judging team and was seated at the table with Prince William of the UK and she was impressed on how he took time to speak to each young leader.
In his address on the occasion Prince William had stated that the award, “Is to uplift young people from all corners of the globe.”
Speaking about his mother, he said, “She taught me that everyone has the potential to give something back.”
According to the Organization, the award was established in memory of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, “The Diana Award is the most prestigious accolade a young person aged 9-25 years can receive for their social action or humanitarian work. This is the longest running award for young people through a retrospective nomination process only. Young people do not work towards the award, rather they demonstrate their suitability through their actions, without any expectation of reward.”
The shared belief is that young people can change the world with the values of passion, collaboration, integrity, ambition and unity.
The award takes place every two years by celebrating the achievements of 20 young leaders whose achievements are considered outstanding because of their vision and actions.
“The youth execute their idea and it is after their demonstration of their projects they are awarded. This year the Diana Award recognised 20 successful projects. Some of them dealt with mental health, the elderly, for students and so on,” said HH Sayyidah Basma.
The governments have to think that students have to do volunteer work, she said.
“In some schools in Oman, they have to volunteer before they complete graduation. I think it is important for the children to understand the importance of humanity and they should be encouraged to realise that they have a big role to play in this regard,” she noted, adding that the good part of the award was that they continue with the project.
HH Sayyidah Basma said quite often awards are given on the basis of ideas and the project might function for a while but with no sustainability.
“With Diana Award, there is follow up and mentor ship, so the projects continue to benefit the society. The ideas were vivid belonging to different sectors but all to do with humanity and not with business,” she pointed out.
“So when we ask what youth can do? The government also has to infuse the culture of volunteering in youth so that the youth might find it exciting and competitive. But then again, ideas for humanity are very different from business,” she said.
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