Tuesday 12th June 2018
Her Majesty The Queen to honour young people from New Zealand with prestigious Award for improving the lives of others
Her Majesty The Queen will present Alexia Hilbertidou and Ezekiel Raui from New Zealand with a Queen’s Young Leaders
Award at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London, on Tuesday 26th June. The Awards recognise the work that young
people from across the Commonwealth are doing to transform lives in their community and beyond.
Alexia, aged 19, from Auckland, New Zealand will receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for the work she is doing to
inspire and enable women to become leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM),
leadership and entrepreneurship in her country.
Ezekiel, aged 20, also from Auckland, will receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for the work he is doing to encourage
men to take up leadership positions and to talk more openly about mental health issues in New Zealand.
Alexia and Ezekiel were selected following a competitive process involving thousands of applicants across the
Commonwealth. Together they join a network of 240 powerful young leaders, from 53 Commonwealth countries, who are
driving change to make the world a better place.
The 2018 Queen’s Young Leaders are finding solutions to global issues such as climate change, food scarcity,
gender-based violence, mental health, and access to education.
The Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners take part in a year-long leadership course run by the University of Cambridge
and receive bespoke mentoring. They will visit the UK for a programme of high-profile networking opportunities, meetings
and training designed to help them develop as leaders and work with ever greater impact.
Later this month, during their time in the UK, Alexia and Ezekiel will visit 10 Downing Street, take part in masterclasses at the BBC World Service and the UK Headquarters of Facebook. Award winners will then meet
with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and High Commissioners from across the Commonwealth, before receiving their
Award from Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace. They will also attend workshops at the University of Cambridge
and visit projects that are changing the lives of vulnerable people in the UK.
Dr Astrid Bonfield CBE, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust said:
“Through selfless determination, the Queen’s Young Leaders of 2018 are dedicating their lives to bring positive change
to those around them. Their visit to the UK this June provides them with a unique opportunity to connect with each other
and gain valuable lessons from experts and leaders from all walks of life which we hope will help transform the reach of
their endeavours for many years to come. I am delighted that the work they are undertaking is being recognised by Her
Majesty The Queen and I look forward to meeting this year’s winners and celebrating the remarkable difference that they
have already made all over the Commonwealth. Now that we are in the fourth and final year of this special programme, we
look proudly on the network that is the Queen’s Young Leaders and feel confident that the future will be driven by their
courage and commitment towards making the world a better place.”
The Queen’s Young Leaders programme was established in 2014 by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership
with Comic Relief, The Royal Commonwealth Society and the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education,
in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.
To see a full list of Award winners and highly commended runners up, and to learn more about their stories, please visit www.queensyoungleaders.com
-ENDS-