At this year’s esteemed Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work, Trinidad and Tobago’s very own, Maya Kirti Nanan, Founder of the Autism Siblings and Friends Network (ASFN), received the award as the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for 2023, from His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, on Thursday, 14 September 2023 at St James’s Palace in London.

Minister Cummings congratulated Ms. Nanan and stated “I am very pleased to see Ms. Nanan achieve this milestone at the international level. Rahul’s Club House was won the award for Youth Project Impact (Ages 18 – 35) at the National Youth Awards 2022. In 2021, I also presented Ms. Nanan with the National Youth Award for Youth Leadership – Community Group.

Twenty-year-old, Maya Kirti Nanan, a former San Fernando Central Secondary School student is the Founder of the Autism Siblings and Friends Network (ASFN), a non-profit organization based in Trinidad and Tobago that creates opportunities for special needs persons. ASFN operates under the name of Rahul’s Clubhouse. ASFN was inspired as a result of Maya’s brother, Rahul being diagnosed with autism. ASFN is currently actively developing educational, social, and skills programs that will benefit over 10,000 individuals diagnosed with autism. In 2020, Maya became the first Diana Award recipient from Trinidad and Tobago, she created the ASFN with the intention to make Trinidad and Tobago more inclusive of people with autism and other special needs. Maya’s contribution to youth work in 2023, also earned her the regional prize for the Caribbean.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland KC remarked “These awards recognize and dignify the valuable contribution thousands of young people across the Commonwealth make to human development, embodied in the outstanding efforts of our winners and the winners here today.”

His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh further emphasized, “This award is a fantastic demonstration of what happens when you give young people those opportunities and encouragement.”

The Commonwealth Awards was held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting, which also marked the 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Youth Programme, that was designed to display the work of youths across its 56 member-states. In recognizing the work of youths, 50 young persons were highlighted for their contributions in 2023. Following a rigorous judging process, those shortlisted were selected across each of the award’s five regional categories: Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Canada, and the Pacific. Twenty of these made the finalist list, who were then further assessed and shortlisted, of which five regional winners were chosen, one being Maya Kirti Nanan who emerged as the Caribbean Regional Winner.