A talented student and tech entrepreneur from Pakistan, Syed Faizan Hussain, has received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award. The 23-year-old has been recognised for his work to support the use of technology in health related solutions.
Queen’s Young Leaders Award
It is an annual award that looks for people aged between 18-29 years from Commonwealth nations and acknowledges them for their leadership potential. The award was established via the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in 2014.
About Syed Faizan Hussain
Faizan has founded a number of startups, including Edu-Aid – a system that can translate sign language to spoken language – and OneHealth – a mechanism which can be used for disease surveillance and tracking to support medical institutions in dealing with epidemic outbreaks.
The young entrepreneur has also worked as a teacher with over 200 students from underprivileged backgrounds to train them in computer programming skills.
He now plans to launch a tech consultancy and outsourcing company, Venture Dart, for skilled freelancers, entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Faizan Hussain said: "I am delighted to have received this award and look forward to expanding my leadership skills and engaging with people from various fields who will be sharing their ideas and experiences."
An honour for the winners
During the ceremony held at the Buckingham Palace in the UK on June 30, Faizan was the only Pakistani to join the list of winners from across all Commonwealth countries.
The award includes a programme of meetings, networking opportunities and mentoring sessions, all curated to help the award winners progress as leaders in their home countries and increase their impact on people’s lives.
Before the award ceremony all winners visited 10 Downing Street (UK Prime Minister’s House) and took part in master classes at the BBC World Service and Facebook’s headquarters in the UK.
The award winners were also hosted by the Commonwealth Secretary General. University of Cambridge will be offering workshops to each of the winners while senior executives from leading organisations will inform them about projects which are improving people’s lives in the UK.
Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Dr Astrid Bonfield CBE, stated: "The Queen’s Young Leaders of 2017 are doing truly remarkable work within their communities. Their actions are having a positive impact not only on those around them but also by setting in motion positive change that will last for generations to come.
"The residential programme is an opportunity for the 2017 Queen’s Young Leaders to come together for the first time, to foster partnerships and share ideas about how they can work together as a group to improve people’s lives all over the Commonwealth.
"We are delighted that these young people are being recognised for their life-changing work by Her Majesty The Queen and we hope that their time in the UK will inspire and enable them to pursue their work for others on an ever greater scale."
This article originally appeared on ProPakistani and has been reproduced with permission.
