Young people and youth organisations in Dumfries and Galloway enjoyed the region’s annual youth awards ceremony, held online and at Easterbrook Hall on Thursday.
A much reduced audience attended Easterbrook Hall and around 1,000 joined the event online.
The Awards recognised and celebrated talented and inspirational young people between the age of 12 and 25 years, and recognised the good work being done in communities across the region.
The circus themed even included performances from local young people and the hall was embellished with red and white big top themed tables, a clown car, fun house mirrors, and rearing circus horses, to create a stunning and fun venue for the young people attending.
The evening began with a performance by Think Circus, who provided an LED Glow show an, later in the evening, an ariel artist and juggling act.
The event was officially opened by the outgoing Chair and Vice Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Youth Council, Hannah Birse and Elli Wadsworth, who commended the strength and resilience shown by young people over the last 2 years.
Sheila Brown, from Education Scotland delivered an inspiring insight into the Power of Young People before the main award ceremony started.
The audience then heard the remarkable and inspirational stories of the 30 finalists, who were shortlisted from scores of nominations with the winner of each category revealed on the night.
Category winners:
Sport – Erin Quinn
Equality – Children’s Panel Volunteers
Environmental Champion – The Path Project, Newton Stewart
Health & Wellbeing – Bar Evolution
Participation – Demi Leigh Stacey
Culture & The Arts – Catherine Townsend Sawley
Youth Work Excellence – 10,000 Voices in Action Project
Inspiring Voices – Hannah Birse
Unsung Hero – Steven Allan
Following a live audience vote on the evening, The Path Project was awarded the Young Person of the Year 2021 award.
Laura Kiltie was awarded Youth Worker/Leader of the Year 2021.
Recognition awards were presented to members of the 2019-2021 Youth Council, who have recently come to the end of their term, to thank them for their hard work and commitment to young people and communities across Dumfries and Galloway over the last 2years.
The evening was brought to a close by Dumfries and Galloway’s Young Peoples Champion, Councillor Adam Wilson who praised the breadth and quality of youth work in Dumfries and Galloway and the kindness and patience of young people during the pandemic.
He said “Tonight was full of inspirational and talented young people and young leaders who are making a difference in our communities every single day. All of the finalists were deserving of recognition and praise and I am extremely proud of them all. It was a really special night, celebrating the power of young people, and a reminder that we will emerge from this pandemic stronger than before.”
The Dumfries and Galloway Youth Awards were fully funded by the National Lottery and The Crichton Trust.
