Cayman’s Dejea Lyons has been named among this year’s cohort of Diana Award winners, for her environmental advocacy.
A press release from Protect Our Future said the group’s former leader had received the award, set up in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, for “going above and beyond in her daily life to create and sustain positive change in our world”.
Lyons, aged 19, from Cayman was praised for her “unifying voice and environmental advocacy,” as well as promoting dialogue between the generations.
Campaigns such as community clean-ups, advocacy for banning single-use plastics and the organisation of protests to advocate for coral reef protection were highlighted in the press release. Lyons also helped develop a Caribbean Ocean Heroes Boot Camp to connect young people in the Caribbean during the pandemic and is a co-editor and author of OH-WAKE magazine.
In 2021, she was invited by the International National Trust Organisation to represent the Caribbean as the youth speaker for the region at COP26 in Glasgow, where she called for action for a sustainable future for the next generation.
The Diana Award
Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.
Tessy Ojo CBE, CEO of The Diana Award praised this year’s award-recipients as “changemakers for their generation”.
“It is especially poignant as we remember Princess Diana twenty-five years on. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens,” Ojo states in the press release.
Award recipients are nominated by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognise their efforts as a positive contribution to society.
Lyons was put forward locally by her teacher and educational coordinator of Plastic Free Cayman, Bill LaMonte and internationally by the representatives of the Captain Planet Foundation.
A virtual ceremony was held on Friday, 1 July to recognise this year’s winners. Opening and closing remarks were given by the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, who told the award recipients, “We need you to keep making a difference.”
“I see her legacy in a Diana Award community that spans multiple generations,” he said of his mother.
The current leaders of Protect Our Future stated they were “very proud of Dejea’s accomplishment and encourage more Caymanian youth to get involved in their local community”.
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