ICE supports The Queen's Young Leaders Programme

The University of Cambridge Institute for Continuing Education (ICE) will be leading the University’s major contribution to an initiative launched at Buckingham Palace today which will celebrate talented young people from across the Commonwealth over the next four years.

The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme has been established by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and is run in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society.

It aims to discover, celebrate and support young people aged 19 to 29 from every Commonwealth nation. They will be chosen for having transformed their own lives and the lives of those around them, despite challenges they may have faced along the way.

In recognition of the 60 years that The Queen had served as Head of the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee, 60 inspirational young leaders from across the Commonwealth nations will be selected each year from 2014 to 2018.

The Programme will further strengthen the skills and confidence of Award winners so that they are ready to change the lives of those around them and to inspire the next generation of young leaders through their own actions and values.

ICE will be making an important contribution to the Programme, in conjunction with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Cambridge University Press, by providing tailored support to the award winners to develop their skills as leaders, equipping them to lead change in their chosen sphere in their communities and countries.

This will include an annual two-day residential leadership course at Madingley Hall, Cambridge, to which the 60 annual award winners from the 53 Commonwealth countries will come as part of a week-long visit to the UK. Their visit will culminate in the presentation of their awards at Buckingham Palace.

Dr Rebecca Lingwood, Director of ICE said: “Our goal is to promote the enormous impact of the Commonwealth on young people and their communities by nurturing the young leaders of the future and enabling them to become ambassadors for others. It is an ambitious and exciting project, and one that promises to be not just a useful contribution during its lifetime but part of a lasting legacy.”