Local PoF activist wins special royal award

(CNS): Caymanian activist Dejea Lyons (19), a founding member of Protect Our future, has received the highly prestigious Diana Award for her advocacy work for the environment. Established in memory of Princess Diana, the award is given to people aged 9-25 for their social action or humanitarian work. According to Tessy Ojo, the chief executive of the Diana Award, recipients are considered changemakers for their generation.

Lyons was nominated locally by Bill LaMonte, the science teacher at Cayman International School, and internationally by representatives of the Captain Planet Foundation.

A virtual ceremony was held on Friday to recognise this year’s winners, where Princess Diana’s youngest son, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, told the award recipients, “We need you to keep making a difference.” 

Lyons, a firm believer in the power of intergenerational discourse, has been doing her best to make a difference for several years, and her work has highlighted many issues, notably the campaign to ban single-use plastics. She was involved in the campaign against the cruise port in George Town and helped develop a Caribbean Ocean Heros Boot Camp to connect young people in the Caribbean during the pandemic. She is also a co-editor and author of OH-WAKE magazine.

In 2021 Lyons was invited by the International National Trust Organisation to represent the Caribbean as the youth speaker for the region at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow and used this platform to demand action for a sustainable future for the next generation of Caribbean youth. Lyons continues to advocate for the future of Cayman and aims to see more young people involved in the decision-making process.

A spokesperson for Protect Our Future said the members were all very proud of Lyons’ accomplishment and encouraged more Caymanian young people to get involved in their local community.