Online event set to encourage honours nominations from young people

The webinar, hosted by the Cabinet Office in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and social enterprise Young Voices Heard, is being run to encourage more people aged under 30 to make nominations to the honours system.

It is one of a series of Cabinet Office webinars targeting under-represented groups and sectors in an effort to make the nominations process more inclusive.

The free webinar, entitled How to master an honours nomination, will be held at 12.30 on Wednesday 28 July.

It will share data that highlights the need for more nominations from and for younger candidates and will hear from award panel member Carly Jones MBE, of the Community and Voluntary Services Committee, and independent British Autism Advocate about what she looks for in a nomination.

Two recent award winners will also share their reaction to local and national recognition and its impact: Molly Spears, aged 23 and recipient of the British Empire Medal (BEM), who founded Molly's Meals during the first lockdown, reaching 2,500 people; and 27-year-old Mete Coban, awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for championing youth participation and making democracy more accessible as co-founder of the charity My Life My Say.

James Cathcart, director of Young Voices Heard, said the idea of holding a special session to make nominations more accessible emerged from discussions on how to engage young people and frontline staff as nominators. Here, he outlines the benefits for young people and organisations of participating in being recognised by the honours system.

Recognising young changemakers
By James Cathcart, director and founder of Young Voices Heard

Traditionally young people don’t feature much in the honours list, but when they do, they challenge the assumption that honours are only for people at the end of their careers. However, early recognition can boost the profile of changemaker, marking them as a potential future leader. It can draw attention to a cause of campaign, giving credit to the younger generation who can produce exceptional changemakers.

An honour can significantly amplify messages and sustain that individual’s impact and potential over a longer period of time. The Queens Honours focus on individuals, whether working through organisations or under their own initiative. It recognises exceptional achievement locally and nationally. The right to use post-nominal letters after your name brings a boost to the individual or their work for life. More national recognition for those in this age group would also send a message to young people that their contribution to public life is equally valued by the nation.

Very few awards for youth social action are made each year – sometimes as few as one. As someone who advocates greater youth voice and participation in public life I’m aware that many amazing young people from all backgrounds have not been recognised, many simply because they were not nominated.

One of my favourite annual tasks has been to help source and support young judges who join the Children & Young People Now Awards judging team. They take part as equals on the panel. These annual awards recognise both local and national programmes, organisations and individuals of all ages. It is one of the highlights of the year for the sector especially during testing times.

Sector recognition by our peers and those we help inspires all of us, encourages good practice, and boosts the causes we work for. When I see the amazing work going on I wonder that more younger people in the youth sector are not subsequently nominated for national honours.

This is something I and Young Voices Heard have been campaigning to change, not just through the Queens Honours system but other awards such as Points of Light and the excellent Diana Awards. I started to research who was receiving awards for social action and I first approached the Cabinet Office honours team a few years ago to help me compile a Queens Youth Honours and perhaps identify trends in terms of gender or minority representation. However, the published list does not provide this level of detail so I’ve been using clues in the official citation, social media and press reports, to identify young winners. This is updated every six months on the Young Voices Heard website.

The numbers have been increasing each year since 2012 when the BEM was reintroduced and members of the public encouraged to make nominations. Some years I have found only one winner but in 2021 there were at least 14. Some are as young as 13. While most are unknown to the general public, Marcus Rashford MBE and Raheem Sterling MBE were recognised for their work in addressing poverty, inequality and racism. The youth list has currently identified more than 40 examples as a reference point for those considering making a nomination.

I believe that young people have been making a significant contribution to public life for decades, through their volunteering and social action campaigns, and if more are nominated and recognised sooner and at the highest level, this will help inspire and mobilise the next generation of young leaders. It’s not just about what they have done, but what they will go on to do, not just who they are but what they will become.

To find out more and to book a ticket for the webinar click here