Dejea Lyons from the Cayman Islands is honoured with The Diana Award for going above and beyond in her daily life to create and sustain positive change in our world.

Dejea Lyons, aged 19, from the Cayman Islands has been recognised with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action and humanitarian efforts – 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.

Dejea’s unifying voice and environmental advocacy is what has given her this honour. Dejea has dedicated herself to working for a better future for her islands. As a leader of ‘Protect Our Future’, a youth-led environmental organisation in the Cayman Islands, Dejea continues to change how young people are taking action in their communities. She believes in the power of intergenerational discourse. Her campaigns have highlighted many issues, from cleaning up her community and bringing policy forward regarding the banning of single-use plastics to organising protests against the port in Georgetown harbour to save our coral reefs. She helped develop a Caribbean Ocean Heros 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, Dejea was invited by the International National Trust Organisation to represent the Caribbean as the youth speaker for the region at ‘COP26’ in Glasgow. Dejea used this platform to demand action for a sustainable future for the next generation of Caribbean youth. Dejea continues to advocate for the future of her islands and aims to see more young people involved in the decision-making process.

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 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.”  

Award recipients have been put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognise their efforts as a positive contribution to society. In Dejea’s case, she was nominated locally by her teacher and educational coordinator of Plastic Free Cayman, Bill LaMonte and Internationally by the representatives of the Captain Planet Foundation (H Storck and Courtney Kimmel). Through a rigorous 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.

A virtual ceremony was held on Friday July 1st to recognize this year’s Diana Award winners. Opening and closing remarks were given by the Duke of Sussex. In speaking about his mother, Princess Diana and the award recipients, he stated, “I see her legacy in a Diana Award community that spans multiple generations. We need you to keep making a difference.” The current leaders of Protect Our Future are very proud of Dejea’s accomplishment and encourage more Caymanian youth to get involved in their local community. 

Nominations for the 2023 Diana Award are now open at: https://diana-award.org.uk/award/nomination-centre/