CI launches The Outstanding Young Person Award

There are young people in Malta that excel in their professions, do sterling work in the community, gain achievements in the cultural field, and are role models for their peers. Many of these people, however, go unnoticed. It is for this reason that Junior Chamber International Malta (JCI Malta) will be formally recognising young people who excel in their endeavours and commitment in different fields.

In collaboration with HSBC Bank Malta plc, KPMG Malta and the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, JCI Malta is launching the third edition of The Outstanding Young Person (TOYP) Award.

The award, which is also supported by the Ministry of Education, is aimed at giving deserved recognition, on a national as well as on an international level, to any individual who has made a difference in his or her community and beyond.

Dr Elaine Tabone Adami, JCI Malta national president, said: "We want to recognise not just the amazing stories we hear about every day, or the ones which we do not hear about at all, but we want to give credit to the people who are behind these stories. The people who managed to make other people's lives that little bit better.

The people who have shown ability in leading others to achieve targets which otherwise would have not been reached."

Education Minister Louis Galea said that it is important to recognise the sterling work that young Maltese men and women often do behind the scenes in the social, political and economic sectors. The minister said that the award has, since its inception, brought to the fore some truly outstanding young persons and all those who are nominated are outstanding persons in their own right.  

The minister urged the public to take an active role in this award particularly by looking around them, at work, in their community and in the circles they frequent, to see if they know any young person who deserves such an award. The hope is that the initiative and achievements demonstrated by the outstanding person who wins the award, will in turn, inspire others to exceed their potential and create positive change.

The first and second local editions of the award were won by Dr Simon Busuttil, who was nominated in the category for political, legal and/or government affairs, and by Marija Schranz, nominated in the category for humanitarian and voluntary service.

Young men and women between the ages of 18 and 40 may be nominated in one of ten categories for the TOYP honour:

1. Business, economic, and/or entrepreneurial accomplishment;

2. Political, legal and/or governmental affairs;

3. Academic leadership and/or accomplishment;

4. Cultural achievement;

5. Moral and/or environmental leadership;

6. Contribution to children's welfare, world peace, and /or human rights;

7. Humanitarian and/or voluntary service;

8. Scientific and/or technological development;

9. Personal improvement and/or accomplishment;

10. Medical innovation.

All nominations may be submitted to the Junior Chamber International TOYP Programme and given the opportunity to be selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World honoured during the 62nd JCI World Congress.

The nomination must specify in advance the category for which the nominee is contending, although the final ten nominees will be short-listed regardless of the category entered. These ten nominees will be short-listed by a panel of distinguished judges based on their achievements in, or contributions to, the category selected in the nomination.

The presentation of the Awards will be held during JCI Malta's Awards Night on November 25. This year, JCI Malta will award winners for each of the 10 TOYP categories. During the Awards Ceremony, one of the final ten will also be declared as The Outstanding Young Person for 2006.  

The closing date for the submission of applications is October 27. Nomination forms may be downloaded from the JCI Malta Website www.jci.org.mt. For further information, e-mail the TOYP project team on toyp2006@jci.org.mt or contact the project leader, Chris Mallia, on 9942 3501.