The Queen’s Young Leaders programme is today delighted to reveal that Jodie Dennie from St Vincent and the Grenadines has been chosen as one of the final ever Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners in recognition of the lead she is taking in the community to change lives.
The prestigious Awards programme, now in its fourth and final year, celebrates exceptional young people aged 18 to 29 from across the Commonwealth and the work they are undertaking to improve lives across a diverse range of issues, from supporting people living with mental health problems, helping children to receive a quality education, to promoting gender equality.
Jodie will now join the Queen’s Young Leaders network of 240 Award winners, a unique community of influential change-makers, who represent all 52 Commonwealth countries. The winners announced today will receive their Award from Her Majesty The Queen at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London, UK, next year.
Jodie from Kingstown, St Vincent, and the Grenadines has been chosen in recognition of the work she is doing to raise awareness of mental health in her community and beyond.
Jodie Dennie, aged 28, said: “I am honoured to be selected as a Queen’s Young Leader and I will continue to do my part to raise awareness on this topical issue.”
Jodie champions the issue of mental health in her community. She is the creator of The Mind Matters SVG campaign, which aims to teach people aged 10 to 30 about the importance of good mental health.
Her work, which has the support of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Environment, has included giving presentations to young people at three summer programmes and holding art therapy and sports sessions to show how these activities can help to improve people’s mental health.
Jodie’s interviews of two local people about their experiences with depression were used by the World Health Organisation on World Health Day as part of its ‘Depression: Let’s Talk’ campaign. She created social media sites to promote the campaign at a local, regional and international level.
The Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners receive bespoke training, mentoring and networking opportunities, and take part in a residential programme in the UK, to help them build on the work they are leading in their communities.
They join a now complete network of Award winners and, in tribute to Her Majesty The Queen’s lifetime of Service, will continue to connect and collaborate and change lives for years to come.
