Two Indians have won the Queen’s Young Leaders award in the UK for their exceptional work in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities. Kartik Sawhney, 21, and Neha Swain, 28 from India are among 60 others who won the Queen’s Young Leaders award 2016 which will be presented by the British monarch at a gala ceremony in Buckingham Palace in June 2016.

Who is Kartik Sawhney?

• Kartik, who was born blind, has been acknowledged for his exceptional work highlighting universal access to education for all.
• After discovering that blind students were unable to pursue science after Grade 10, he appealed and enrolled as India’s first Grade 11 blind science student. He faced similar challenges when trying to enter engineering colleges.
• He founded Project STEMAccess, which offers hands-on science workshops in India, as well as virtual training sessions.

Who is Neha?

• Neha, a youth facilitator and co-founder of NGO Rubaroo provides an inclusive space for young people, irrespective of their socio-economic background, to develop their leadership skills through interactive workshops.
• Her team provides workshops to schools in India free of charge and has so far worked with nearly 2,000 young people in the city of Hyderabad.

About the Award

Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust present the award to recognise young people from across the 53 countries of the Commonwealth who are “taking the lead in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities”.

The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was established in 2014 by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of the Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.

While the award does not come with any cash incentive, it offers each of the winners bespoke mentoring and online learning provided by the University of Cambridge.