2015 global youth award winners named in Changhua

2015/10/22

Winners of the inaugural Global Youth of the Year Award were honored Oct. 20 in central Taiwan’s Changhua County for advancing social justice and basic human rights.

Selected from an international field of 100-plus candidates aged under 18, the recipients are Liao Chung-lun of Taiwan, Mazoun Almellehan from Syria, Memory Banda of Malawi, Khalidi Mngulu from Tanzania and Adda Smaradottir of Iceland.

Lu Hsing-chung, head of award organizer National Changhua Senior High School Library, said the quintet demonstrated remarkable resilience in the fight for their causes. “These activists serve as beacons of hope for the neglected and underprivileged in different corners of the world.”

The ceremony, which was attended by Changhua County Magistrate Wei Ming-ku and Swaziland Ambassador Thamie Dlamini, involved all of the awardees except Almellehan. She is currently staying at a refugee camp in Jordan and promoting education for young women in the facility.

Liao, a student at National Taichung First Senior High School, was recognized for a July campaign protesting high school curriculum changes in Taiwan. “The award strengthens my core beliefs and commitment to making positive change,” he said. “We must take action to right the wrongs of today, or we may never have the chance tomorrow.”

Equally dedicated is Smaradottir, a student at Commercial College of Iceland in Reykjavik, who focused worldwide attention on gender equality by instigating this year’s “Free the Nipple” movement.

Banda and Mngulu also initiated impressive social changes in their countries. The former has strived since 2009 to have the Malawi government pass a law banning underage marriage, while the latter has worked to bolster children’s rights in Tanzania, especially for those persecuted for congenital disorders like albinism.

According to Lu, the award is an extension of NCSHS’s 2006-established International Youth Leadership Conference.

“The IYLC program has provided a platform for in-depth youth exchanges, and we expect the honor to take the initiative to the next level, spreading the message of hope and involvement for the leaders of tomorrow.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=238075&ctNode=2194&mp=9)