At the Global Good Awards ceremony on 2nd September, Bella Lack and Nicole Fernandes de Silva were announced as the winners of the Canon Young Champion of the Year Award.
The award, a new addition to the Global Good Awards for 2020, was inspired by Canon’s Young People Programme, an initiative which helps young people across EMEA to use the power of visual storytelling to drive sustainable change. Canon sponsored the category to further encourage the recognition of young people around the world who are working to raise awareness and inspire action on a range of sustainability topics.
Candidates were invited to submit up to 1,000 words detailing their activism and how it related to a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). They accompanied their projects with photography and videos, tapping into a ‘universal language’ to help their work be understood by everyone across world.
Bella, the winner in the 21 and under category, was praised by the judges for her inspiring work with various sustainability institutions to improve wildlife conservation. In addition to being an ambassador for the Born Free Foundation, the RSPCA and the Jane Goodall Institute, Bella helped to set up Reserva: Youth Land Trust, which funds youth-driven wildlife preserves across the world.
Nicole’s winning entry in the 16 and under category focused on her work with the BIGKID Foundation in raising awareness of youth violence in South London. Entitled “Through My Eyes”, her photo series painted a moving picture of the daily realities for many young people in the hope of inspiring further community action to tackle youth violence.
In addition to Bella and Nicole, seven other young people who reached the finals were commended for their sustainability work addressing issues such as bullying, sexual inequality and youth unemployment.
“I’d like to say a huge congratulations to our winners, Bella and Nicole, and all the other finalists who took part in the Canon Young Champion of the Year Award” said Adam Pensotti, Head of the Young People Programme, Canon EMEA. “This is the first year for the Canon award category and we are off to a strong start. We have seen stories from young activists who are really making an impact with these sustainable initiatives, helping transform our world for the better. We are now looking forward to next year, and continuing the awards, supporting more young people to make a difference to their communities and the world”.
Both Bella and Nicole will be featured in a takeover of the United Nations’ Instagram channel which will showcase the incredible work inspired by the Canon Young People Programme and the change it’s supporting across EMEA.
The two winners will each receive a Canon G7 Mark III camera, while the other finalists will receive a Canon Zoemini C camera, to help them all to continue using positive visual storytelling to share their initiatives, driving us towards making the world a more sustainable place. In addition, all finalists will be receiving a 25% discount voucher for the Canon store.
Canon will be sponsoring the Canon Young Champion of the Year Award again in the 2021 edition of the Global Good Awards, with entries set to open later this year.