16-year-old Bengaluru girl receives Diana Award for social work

Bengaluru: Sixteen-year-old Bengaluru girl Shloka Ashok, from Greenwood High International School has been given Diana Award in recognition of social action and humanitarian efforts. Instituted in 1999 in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given by the charitable trust of the same name and has the support of both her sons – Prince Charles, the Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.

Shloka won The Diana Award for founding 'InternMee', a platform that provides internship, volunteering and leadership opportunities to high schoolers free of charge. Launched in December 2020, 'InternMee' has helped over 35,000 students from over 85 countries and was featured in the top 10 internship search websites by a survey. In August 2020, Shloka also co-founded 'Dildaan', a social organization that supports and raises money to fund girls' education in India. It began by educating 11 girls and are working towards reaching out to more. Shloka also founded a social service club at school, which aims to expand their reach and inspire school community.

"I am immensely grateful to receive The Diana Award and be part of a global community of young, inspirational changemakers. This international award cements my belief that young people have the power to change the world and the recognition not only provides the validation that every young changemaker needs, but also acts as a driving force to do more. I aim to continue working towards creating equitable opportunities and receiving The Diana Award has motivated me to dream bigger and take on more social responsibilities," said Shloka Ashok.

The CEO of The Diana Award, Tessy Ojo said, "We warmly congratulate our new Diana Award recipients from the UK and across the world who are 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."The Trustee, Greenwood High International School, Niru Agarwal said, "We congratulate Shloka on her being awarded the prestigious Diana Award which showcases the capabilities she has demonstrated by running her own social projects. It is a moment of great pride for the school community and we are sure that this will inspire the youth to take on challenging and socially impacting initiatives."

All the 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. The panels consist of three judges who understand the value of young people, including one young person representative. The panels have an important purpose: to determine which nominations from each region or nation will receive The Diana Award. Nominations are judged using the Criteria Guide and Scoring Guide which have been created to measure quality of youth social action.