The Diana Award is the only charity set up to pay tribute to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, and to mark International Day of Youth, the organisation has launched its five-year strategy to empower young people with a special foreword written by the Duke of Cambridge.
Future Forward is The Diana Award’s new plan to encourage today’s youth to make positive changes over the next five years. Diana, Princess of Wales, firmly believed in the power of young people to change the world, and 20 years on, the charity is carrying out initiatives to ensure that today’s youth are supported, and no one is left behind.
Both of Diana’s sons have been actively involved with The Diana Award over the years, and the Duke of Cambridge wrote an impassioned foreword to the charity’s new plan. His message reads:
The lives of thousands of young people have been impacted by the global pandemic, with education interrupted, work opportunities disrupted, and social connections strained. Yet many of the young people who I have been fortunate to meet over the last year have shown an enormous passion and commitment to helping their communities recover and rebuild – and beyond that, are working hard to tackle the social inequality and injustice that they see in the world around them. Organisations like The Diana Award have never been more important in nurturing the talent of young people and working with them to change the world for the better by celebrating their successes; creating opportunities for growth; and ensuring that young people have a seat at the table.
The world has changed significantly in the twenty years since The Diana Award was established in my mother’s memory, however challenges remain, and urgent change is needed so that young people inherit a world of which we can be proud. Future Forward sets out The Diana Award’s blueprint for how change can be achieved, with young people at its heart. I am excited to see what The Diana Award and the young people it empowers can achieve together.
According to the Future Forward plan, 80 per cent of young people reported that the pandemic has increased their wish to make a change in the world, and an April 2020 Diana Award survey revealed 70 per cent of young people are more engaged than ever in social and community action.
However, today’s youth are often missing from conversations about how society can move forward in the next few years in terms of mental health and social equality. According to the charity, Future Forward hopes to place “young people at the heart of leading change.”
The Diana Award’s anti-bullying movement is a key part of the Future Forward strategy, along with supporting mentoring opportunities, developing a network of changemakers, and supporting policies and practices that give young people a voice.
“We know young people are often closest to society’s problems with many at risk of poor mental health and low social mobility,” said Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award. “In the shadow of the pandemic, we need to take action now. Who better to lead that change than young people? We know young people have the talent, passion and insight to shape the future and lead the recovery. Our Future Forward strategy empowers young people to lead positive change.”
Young people from around the world have been invited to write a letter to their future selves and weigh in on the conversation, and one of them, Jonathan Bryan, said: “Young people are not the future. We are your present. Involving us and listening to our voice is the most powerful way to affect change from the bottom up.”
The full strategy for Future Forward is available on The Diana Award website.
