Pakistani youth receives award from Queen Elizabeth

LONDON: A young promising Pakistani, Syed Faizan Hussain, who was awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Award (QYLA) on 30 June, has received the award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.

Prince Harry, British athlete Muhammad Farah, David Beckham and One Direction member Liam Payne were also presented during the ceremony. During the week, the winners visited some of the country’s biggest organisations, including Facebook and the BBC, to pick up tips from top business leaders.

Faizan is a social entrepreneur who uses technology to create solutions to health problems in his community. He has developed a number of startups, including Edu-Aid, which translates sign language into spoken language, and OneHealth, a disease surveillance and tracking system which notifies health institutions about epidemic outbreaks.

Faizan also works as a voluntary teacher and has mentored more than 200 students from underprivileged households and equipped them with computer programming skills. Faizan is now planning to develop Venture Dart, a tech consultant and outsourcing company for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The Queen’s Young Leader Award recognises and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives.

The winners of this prestigious award receive a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK. With this support, the award winners are expected to continue and develop the amazing work they are already doing in their communities.