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  • 2 years ago
Celebrations are in order; Trinidad and Tobago has copped the 2023 Commonwealth Youth of The Year Award as Autism Advocate Maya Nanan is the winner.


Urvashi Tiwari Roopnarine has the story.
Transcript
00:00 TNT is in the international spotlight once again this time for all the right reasons.
00:08 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2023
00:12 Maya Christine
00:26 In the company of Prince Edward and Secretary General of the Youth Council,
00:31 King's Council Patricia Scotland, Maya Nanan's expression is one of shock on Thursday morning
00:38 as she becomes the youngest Youth of the Year.
00:41 She speaks with us just hours after from her hotel room, still trying to absorb the moment.
00:48 I was shocked. I was just there on the chair while two of the other awardees
00:54 were sitting next to me and they were just hugging me.
00:56 And then I was still sitting there on the chair and they were like,
00:59 "You know you have to go up on stage."
01:01 Maya was shortlisted along with scores of other youth for their contributions
01:06 towards strengthening democracy and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
01:12 Her work has been eight years in the making.
01:15 At the age of 12, she started a network to foster inclusion
01:20 in honour of her brother Rahul, who is autistic.
01:24 Just one year apart and growing up there were many opportunities for him.
01:29 So I would go to school for example and he wouldn't.
01:33 I would go to the park and other kids would just look at him because he was different.
01:37 So I wanted him to be included in the things that I would do,
01:40 but I wanted him to be in a safe environment where people would be educated about autism.
01:46 So that's the reason I started Autism Siblings and Friends Network.
01:49 The Commonwealth Youth Award is geared toward creating a world
01:53 where young people are empowered, engaged and supported.
01:58 It was more or less to get the siblings of those with autism involved
02:03 as well as our friends because we are the ones who would be there with our siblings
02:08 and we want the support of our friends as well.
02:11 We want them, that's where the change starts.
02:13 Since then, Maya's ventures have multiplied.
02:17 We started the first Autism Funday here where it's all sensory friendly.
02:23 So the lights are dimmed as opposed to the mall where it's bright.
02:27 There's no sound at our events as well because he has sensory hearing.
02:31 There aren't much lines, well there isn't any line actually.
02:35 Although it was never her intention, Maya's work has been receiving recognition
02:40 starting with the Diana Award, named after the Princess of Wales,
02:46 which celebrates the contribution young people make to society.
02:51 That one really sets a platform for me to interact with other youths,
02:56 regional and international.
02:58 I'm really thankful for that.
03:00 Then in 2021, I got an award from the Ministry of Youth Development
03:07 and National Service here.
03:09 Then in 2023, I was actually awarded a grant from the Queen's Commonwealth Trust Network.
03:16 Sorry, that was 2022.
03:17 It was a grant from the Queen's Commonwealth Trust Network
03:21 in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
03:23 where we were able to start our Autism Centre.
03:26 I named it after my brother Raul. It's called Raul's.
03:29 Maya's work is far from finished.
03:32 There is still stigma to combat and so much more she'd like to see.
03:38 We really want to have our own Autism Centre,
03:41 a place where we don't have to pay rent.
03:43 It's not just autism as well, there are so many other special needs.
03:46 Right now the rate of autism is becoming more prevalent.
03:50 As much as we don't have statistics in Trinidad,
03:52 it's like every Monday morning, not even every Monday morning,
03:55 every single day we get calls from parents.
03:58 Ravishi Tiwari, Rupnirain, TV6 News.
04:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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