Martina Caruana receives The Queen Young Leaders Award

Martina Caruana received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award for the work she is doing to support women to assume leadership roles by raising awareness of the challenges and barriers that young women face.

The award was presented to Caruana on Tuesday.

Martina was selected following a competitive process involving thousands of applicants across the Commonwealth. Together they join a network of 240 powerful young leaders, from 53 Commonwealth countries, who are driving change to make the world a better place.

The 2018 Queen’s Young Leaders are finding solutions to global issues such as climate change, food scarcity, gender-based violence, mental health, and access to education.

The Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners take part in a year-long leadership course run by the University of Cambridge and receive bespoke mentoring. They will visit the UK for a programme of high-profile networking opportunities, meetings and training designed to help them develop as leaders and work with ever greater impact.

During the ceremony, Caruana spoke to the Duchess of Sussex. Speaking to ‘Hello’ Caruana was reported saying “I know that she’s a feminist like me and she has been doing a lot of great work with the UN Women. As young people we can really relate to both of them, so that’s really important from our point of view. We can have someone to look up to and someone with a lovely history of supporting these great causes.”

In a post on Facebook, Caruana said “Because of the support of a hell of a lot of people, I am here. I have crossed over the backs of hundreds of other Maltese women – contemporary and historic. “According to the knight Louis DeBoisgelin’s account of the Great Siege, the women of Malta responded vigorously to threats and ‘performed actions which in some degree equaled the resolute valor of the knights … the women exposed themselves to the greatest dangers, in order, if possible, to save by their exertions husbands, fathers, brothers, and children’.” – Jean Bethke Elshtain.

From these women, to the ones who unjustly lost their lives in the pursuit of the truth, to the ones who lift me up personally.

Because of you, I can now live my dream. I am the seed of the free and I intend to bear great fruit.

To all victims of sexual and gender-based violence: I see you, I hear you, I am you.”