Two Young Pakistanis Receive the Queen’s Young Leaders Award
Yet again our youth have done us proud as they represented the country wearing traditional clothing in colors of green and white at one of the most magnificent buildings in the UK i.e. Buckingham Palace, where they were among 60 winners from commonwealth countries receiving the Young Leaders Award given by her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Zainab Bibi and Muhammad Usman Khan have achieved tremendous success. Zainab a brilliant student of M.Phil at UET, Lahore formed the Pakistan Society for Green Energy, in 2013 and has become the first Pakistani female to develop an alternate to producing ethanol(bio-fuel) from waste tissue paper and paper waste which is economical and environmental friendly. Furthermore she introduced a plant species Camelina sativa, grown it here and produced biodiesel from it. It can easily grow in less fertile soil, has a very small development span and can fight drought.
Usman holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies from the US, but his patriotic spirit brought him back and is truly committed towards providing education to underprivileged youngsters. Among many accomplishments, he is the founding member and Executive Director of BEYLI (Bringing Education to Youth & Learning Initiatives), whose aim is to guide and support them. Three highly effective programs work under its umbrella, i.e. Back to Life Edutainment, Rethinking Education and Edupowerment(www.beylipk.org).
The winners had the opportunity of attending a week long residential programme in the UK which included a visit to 10 Downing Street, the UK headquarters of Twitter, meeting with senior officials of BBC World Service, political & business leaders as well as the Commonwealth Secretary General, attending workshops and much more. Most importantly they have been given a year long training and mentoring package with the University of Cambridge which would allow them to progress further.
What is the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme?
This has been established in recognition of Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years service as Head of the Commonwealth by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in collaboration with the Commonwealth Society and Comic Relief. The aim of this award is to recognize those young individuals (aged 18-29) who are trying to make a positive difference in the society they live in.
Anyone interested in applying for the 2017 programme, can do so till 4th September at the following: https://www.queensyoungleaders.com/apply-now/