Tarini Ramchandani
2023 Diana Award
Tarini Ramchandani, aged 15, from Pune, India received the Diana Award established in memory of Princess Diana for going above and beyond in their daily life to create and sustain positive change. She has been recognised with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts – The Diana Award.
Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/dianaaward/?hl=en
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, HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex. Tarini was selected for this award for her Project Ashtami.
Starting at age ten, Tarini has worked consistently to make a positive difference in the lives of waste pickers in India. She has created awareness regarding waste management, recycled waste, and raised funds for waste picker's children's education. Under the aegis of Project Ashtami, she organizes waste collection drives, conducts awareness campaigns, and develops sustainable personal hygiene products, as well as conducting ‘red dot’ campaigns to protect waste pickers by clearly marking menstrual waste. Her efforts have diverted over 9,000 kg of waste from landfills, funded scholarships, and sensitised communities. Tarini's work inspires others, earning recognition from her local community leaders, school authorities, the PCMC municipal commissioner, and social media coverage.
See Tarini in this Diana Award Virtual Ceremony Presentation video (time 10:45) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6PVS8Pw3oI&ab_channel=TheDianaAward
Tessy Ojo CBE, CEO of The Diana Award, says:
“We warmly congratulate our new Diana Award recipients from the UK and across the world who are change makers for their generation. These young people demonstrate that young people have the power to change the world; a belief also held by Diana Princess of Wales. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own change making journey.”
WHAT IS THE NOMINATION PROCESS?
Award recipients have been put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognised their efforts as a positive contribution to society. Through a rigorous nomination process, these nominators had to demonstrate the nominee’s impact in five key areas: Vision, Social Impact, Inspiring Others, Youth Leadership, and Service Journey. There are 20 Diana Award Judging Panels representing each region or nation both in the UK and internationally. Panels consist of three judges who understand the value of young people, including one young person representative. The panels have an important main purpose: to determine which nominations from each region or nation will receive a Diana Award. Nominations are judged using the Criteria Guide and Scoring Guide which have been created to measure quality of youth social action.