Muscat – Oman has joined the ongoing celebrations of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. To create more awareness on mental health and encourage youngsters to engage in social work, The Diana Award was introduced at the National Museum on Sunday.

Addressing a gathering at the launch, H H Sayyida Basma al Said, founder of Whispers of Serenity Clinic and organiser of the event, said, “I have had the honour of being the first and only Arab judge for this prestigious award. The event is for the youth and by the youth with the aim of establishing a world full of compassionate young people.”

She described Princess Diana has being one of the strongest role models for many. “Lady Diana said that young people have the potential to change the world and this has been the aim of the award. The art of giving back is the need of the hour; we must dare to be different. The princess taught us the importance of giving back to society, mainly in the field of mental health. The award is designed to honour as well as carry her legacy forward, including in Oman,” H H Sayyida Basma said.

The Diana Award was launched in 1999 to inspire young people to service their communities. Awardees are given access to a unique development programme which aims to further increase their already proven capacity for innovation, leadership and social change.

Present at the event were Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award Charity, and Dr Yvonne Thompson, founder and president of WinTrade Global Women.

“Introducing The Diana Award will spark the minds and hearts of young people to create positive change in their community. The youth are the hope of our future, now is the right time to publicly recognise our young change-makers,” Tessy said.

She presented examples from different parts of the world of youngsters and expressed how The Diana Award supports them.

In reference to recent global developments, Yvonne, who has been working with women in business for the last two decades, said, “It is time we take responsibility and stand in solidarity with the less fortunate ones in Palestine and Ukraine.”