Lens on Life has been shortlisted for the YPP Partner of the Year Award at the Global Good Awards 2023 for its Young People Programme collaboration with Canon CNA (www.Canon-CNA.com) to educate, uplift, empower and upskill marginalized youth in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by providing vocational skills, computer literacy, photography education and work experience.

Founded in 2015, the Global Good Awards reward businesses, NGOs, charities and social enterprises of all shapes and sizes around the world, that are blazing the trail for purpose-driven sustainability and ethical leadership. They recognize leaders who are achieving practical, real-world impact that is both scalable and replicable – and who have inspiring stories to tell.

In 2020, inspired by Canon EMEA’s Young People Programme (https://apo-opa.info/3PjVcG0), Canon and the Global Good Awards launched the Canon Young Champion of the Year category to recognize young leaders who are driving positive change across any area of sustainability and use their examples to encourage others to take action.

In 2023, Canon and the Global Good Awards again collaborated to launch the YPP Partner of the Year Award. The award is designed to recognize the incredible contributions made by organizations to support and empower young people to achieve sustainable change on issues that matter to them.

Following a review of entries by a panel of judges including Steve Kenzie, Executive Director UN Global Compact Network UK, and Hassan Raja, former Canon Young People Programme participant and now Digital Comms Officer for the Mayor of London, Lens on Life was shortlisted as a finalist in the YPP Partner of the Year Award.

Lens on Life and Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) partnered together in 2021 & 2022 for a life-changing project to educate, uplift, empower and upskill marginalized youth in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), by providing photography and computer literacy education. Canon’s partnership with Lens on Life forms part of its broader YPP mission to work with community groups and local schools in collaboration with NGOs to raise awareness about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under this partnership, individuals under the age of 18 are given the opportunity to select a specific SDG that resonates with their passion and creatively capture their vision for driving change within their community.

The YPP’s mission is to empower the next generation to share the social and environmental issues that matter to them whether it be Gender Equality, Good Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education, Sustainable Cities and Communities, or Climate Action. Canon chose Goma in the DRC because part of the YPP’s mission is to support and empower youth in at-risk communities and upscale them.

The winner will be showcased alongside other GGA award winners at the virtual awards ceremony on 12^th July and will be included in a GGA Winners’ event on 12^th October, which will bring the 2023 finalists together from all backgrounds to discuss how we make positive change.

For full details regarding the finalists and the Global Good Awards, please visit: 2023 Global Good Awards Finalists (https://apo-opa.info/3NiQSUK)