Celebrating Young People Awards: Shortlist 2016

The Celebrating Young People Awards honour the achievements of truly remarkable young people who make our communities and our world a better place. Their achievements are an inspiration for us all, showing us all how ordinary young people can do the most extraordinary things.

 Nearly 250 young people were nominated for awards in six categories, celebrating how they put Catholic social teaching into action. We're received inspiring nominations telling us stories of  young family carers, dedicated volunteersand passionate campaigners, to name just a few. With nominations drawn from schools, parishes, organisations and individuals  throughout England and Wales our judging panels, made up of celebrated figures, had a difficult task. But the six separate panels have now  chosen their shortlists - see below - and the young award recipients will be announced at a glittering ceremony this Summer. (The CYMFed Youth Leader Award and the Pope Francis Award do not have a shortlist. The recipients will be announced at the ceremony). 

Cardinal Hume Award: Living out the option for the poor
Tom Morris & Emily Tierney:  Kenelm Youth Trust, Birmingham
Sixth Form Homelessness Campaign Group: St Wilfrid's Catholic School, Crawley
Justice and Peace Group: Notre Dame RC Girls' School, London
Year 12 General Religious Studies Group: St Anselm's College, Liverpool
Matthew Martin: Holy Cross College, Bury
Caitlin Nunez: St Angela's Ursuline School, London

Joseph Cardijn Award: Protecting the Dignity of workers
Marc Besford: 
Ushaw College, Durham
Martins Banjo: St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College, London
Kirsty Anne Watson: Drayton
Alice Stella: South London
Corey Scott: Blackburn College and HCPT
Daniel Fazackerley: St John Rigby College, Wigan

Barbara Ward Award: Caring for the Environment
Owen Bond: Thornleigh Salesian College, Bolton
St James Climate Bloggers: St James Catholic High School, London
Angelique Carlin and Emily Pranarauskait: St Angela's Ursuline School, London
Sam Abraham: All Saints Catholic High School, Sheffield
Anthony Adusei Poku: St Bonaventure's, London
SPH EcoTeam: The St Philip Howard Catholic High School, Bognor Regis

Dorothy Day Award: Fostering community and participation 
Charlie O'Sullivian: St Joseph's College and HCPT Group 721, London
Charlotte Walmsley: Holy Cross Catholic High School, Chorley
Reena Joseph: St Wilfrid's Catholic School, Crawley
Megan Auld: Loreto Sixth Form College, Manchester
Anna Joy Marshall: St. Hugh's Parish and NJPN, Chesterfield
Flavia Sofia Bernardo Matos: St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College

Jimmy Mizen Award: Promoting solidarity and peace
RHUL Inter-faith group: Chaplaincy, Royal Holloway University of London
Emma Atherton: Pax Christi, Liverpool
John Ruggerio: Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, Worcester
Adelaide Laureta and Canice Marcel: St Angela's Ursuline School, London
Newman Catholic College London Citizens: Newman Catholic College, London
Douay Martyrs Chaplaincy Team: The Douay Martyrs School, London

St Josephine Bakhita Award: Celebrating human dignity
Abbie Walker: Sacred Heart Catholic College, Liverpool
Angeline Umba: Holy Cross College, Bury
Madeleine Kennedy: L'Arche Manchester
Christopher Austria: St Bonaventure's, London
Nicola Mattocks: New Addington Church, London
Helen Olorunsuyi: St Angela's Ursuline School, London


 







 

Celebrating Young People!

The first ever Pope Francis Award was given to Ryan O'Neill from Merthyr Tydfil by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, for his work tirelessly supporting and inspiring young people at a glittering ceremony in London’s Leicester Square on 1 July 2015. Awards were made in eight categories, including care for creation, human dignity and the protection of workers, with a special award for most inspiring youth leader going to Bruno Gambini.

“Young people all too often get a bad name,” said Danny Curtin, Director of Million Minutes. “But they are amazing. Million Minutes is all about giving a voice to the young people that get overlooked - we’re delighted to have held these awards to celebrate all that young people are and all that they give to our world.”

The recipient of the Pope Francis Award also won a tailor-made study trip to South America to trace the footsteps of Pope Francis, or Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as he was known in Argentina.

More than 200 young people were nominated, with leading people comprising the judging panels for specific awards. The judging panels were consistently impressed with the standard of the nominations.

Before the Awards themselves, many lucky winners and other nominees were hosted by Baroness Hollins at the House of Lords for high tea and a set of workshops to support the winners in their work for social justice.