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Seychellois youth returns from meeting Her Majesty The Queen |20 July 2018

On Tuesday June 26, Anael Bodwell was presented with her award for the Queen’s Young Leaders (QYL) ceremony by Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace. In the following interview, Anael recounts her experience, and what led to this achievement.

 

 

Q: What can you tell us about yourself?

A: I am 25 years old and I live at Ma Constance. I attended Anse Etoile primary and English River secondary schools, followed by Polytechnic Seychelles as a student of Accounting and Business. I later joined the University of Seychelles (UniSey) where I began studying for my professional qualification in accounting (ACCA).

I was then employed by a local, non-government organisation (NGO) called Alliance of Solidarity for the Family (ASFF) until my UniSey scholarship began. Through the ASFF, I was exposed to a number of civic work and received training in developing and implementing projects.

I became involved in youth work since a very young age, having been a Youth Red Cross volunteer at secondary school. My own skills in budgeting and resource mobilisation further enhanced my job until it led me to co-found a movement within the ASFF, that is the Youth Action Movement (YAM) Seychelles in 2012.

A few years later, I met the inspiring Angelique Pouponneau, and together we co-founded Seychelles Youth AIMS Hub (SYAH Seychelles), a youth-led NGO advancing youth-led initiatives in the area of sustainable development.

I am currently employed at the Office of the Auditor General in the Performance Audit unit.

 

Q: What is the QYL Award?

A: The award seeks to recognise, celebrate and support exceptional young people from across the Commonwealth who are working to better their communities. It is the legacy of Her Majesty the Queen for the youth of the Commonwealth, an initiative she started in 2012 to mark her 60th anniversary of accession.

For four consecutive years since 2014, a cohort of brilliant youth have been selected to become ‘Queen’s Young Leaders’. This year, there were over 4,000 applications received from all over the globe.

The award package includes a year-long leadership training by the University of Cambridge, mentoring sessions with trained professionals across the globe.

It also comprises a tailor-made residential programme which ran for 15 days in the United Kingdom (UK), held in partnership with the University of Cambridge; this includes high-profile networking opportunities, meetings and trainings, designed to help young people develop as leaders, and work with greater impact. Participants also get the chance to visit projects that are changing the lives of vulnerable people in the UK.

 

Q: How did you achieve the award?

A: Winning this award has been the accumulation of a number of local achievements on my part. I think the activities organised by both YAM and SYAH Seychelles have contributed greatly to me receiving this award.

I also served as a board member of the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) from 2015-2017 where I received a lot of mentoring / coaching from the management and fellow board members, specifically Alvin Laurence and Kurtis Lespoir. I also continuously volunteer with NGOs such as the Seychelles Red Cross and Global Shapers Community where I am currently the treasurer.

My work has also led me to a number of other personal achievements that I entirely dedicate to my country. In 2017, I was selected to attend the World Economic Forum on Africa where I pushed for the inclusion of young people in decision-making level on a presidential panel.

I was later nominated for the ‘120under40’ award for Young Family Planning Champion because of my work in Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). I was also one of four young people who contributed to ‘The Mahé Declaration’, an outcome document produced by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Women Parliamentary Forum.

 

Q: What is the importance of youth work to you?

A: These activities are not jobs or chores, they are my passion. I enjoy volunteering and get immense satisfaction whenever I see positive impact in my community. For me, it’s all about giving back to my country. My country and its people have done so much for me and this is my way of showing my gratitude.

Today I stand strong-willed, empowered and confident in what I do. I want other young people to feel that way, and for them to encourage more youth to feel that way as well.

Volunteering is a way of life; volunteers don’t necessarily have the time, they have the heart and that’s all that matters. I think that if everyone is committed to one action, then the whole world would be a better place.

 

Q: Tell us about your experience at the award ceremony

A: It was very intense but calming half-way through. I was feeling a mixture of emotions including nervousness, excitement and just awe. When we reached the palace, we had to undergo some heavy (but obvious) security checks. Once inside, I was blown away by the palace’s interior and decor.

The ceremony was attended by a number of high profile individuals and members of the royal family. We had the honour of meeting some very high level guests such as footballer David Beckham, model Neelam Gill, boxer Nicola Adams, You Tuber Caspar Lee, presenters Ore Oduba and Tina Daheley, and chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, former Prime Minister, Sir John Major.  

The highlight was certainly the honour of meeting and speaking with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex; they were very kind and extremely supportive of our projects. I also had the opportunity to meet the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, and current British Prime Minister, Theresa May.

It’s a true privilege to have had the award presented to me by the Queen. We underwent a rehearsal prior to the award ceremony and had been advised by the organisers to memorise one line about the work we do in case Her Majesty asked us.

Given the number of things I did, I found this quite challenging, but upon meeting the Queen, I managed to tell her in a very concise line about the work I do in Seychelles. She was pleased and asked me if I found it challenging. I was not expecting a second question because there were some 30+ awardees and limited time, but I confidently replied that “yes, there were challenges but I managed to overcome them with various support”. She wished me luck and presented me the award.

 

Q: How do your family and friends feel about your award?

A:  My mother and sister were ecstatic; they are incredibly proud of me and have not stopped saying so even until today. My sister is currently studying in Malaysia and she has been closely following all of my achievements on social media, offering an unfailing amount of support. I really owe this achievement to both of them for believing in what I do and always providing me with support to push further.

My colleagues at work have also been incredibly supportive, especially my Audit manager. They are constantly helping me to grow and become better by providing guidance and valuable advice.

And of course, my network of amazing Seychellois youth that I have the honour of working with. They have been rooting for me since day one, by being a source of inspiration and motivation to contribute to community work. They have sent me tonnes of congratulatory messages, kind thoughts of encouragement and support to keep on doing what I do. They know who they are. It’s a real blessing to have all this support and to be surrounded by such people.

 

Q: What is the significance of your award for Seychelles?

A: I feel that this is a statement that the youth of Seychelles have a lot of potential. Being the third and final winner of the award means that Seychellois youth are key contributors to the betterment of their country and the world.

The 2018 award is also special for me because I was the only representative from the Indian Ocean to have qualified for the Award, despite having other Commonwealth countries in the region like Mauritius.

The award is also a call for the government to take young people seriously because we have a lot to bring to the table. Like few before me, we have been able to get the attention of World Leaders to the causes we believe in, and this will further help us to harness the right support for our respective projects. For instance, the QYL Award has opened professional and personal doors for me to better implement my projects and to develop my personal skills.

 

Q: Will you use this award and experience in any particular ways?

A:I’m very pleased to announce that the three Seychellois awardees of the QYL programme (Angelique Pouponneau 2016, Demien Mougal 2017 and myself) will soon be collaborating for a project. We felt it was very important to give back to the same community that has given so much to us, and we have decided to join forces on a youth-led project.

Otherwise, I’m going to use the experience learned from the programme in my community work and raise awareness about the various opportunities available to young people through the Commonwealth. The notion is still much unknown to a lot of people who still think that ‘this is a government/heads of states thing’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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