NEWS DESK
LONDON: Joshua Dilawar and Danish Sohail receive the QECT 100 Young Leaders Award 2026 and have the distinguished privilege of an audience with Their Majesties The King and The Queen at St. James’s Palace.
In a proud moment for Pakistan, Joshua Dilawar and Danish Sohail have been honoured with the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Trust (QECT) 100 Young Leaders Award 2026, one of the most prestigious youth leadership honours in the Commonwealth.
The awards were presented by Mr. John P. Rigas, Chairman & CEO of Sciens Capital Management and Chairman of Asprey International Ltd., and Mr. Stephen Ball, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Trust, at a ceremony held at the headquarters of Asprey International in London.
Both awardees subsequently had the distinguished privilege of being invited to St. James’s Palace, where they had an audience with Their Majesties The King and The Queen at a reception held in honour of QECT awardees and in advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2026, a historic and deeply humbling moment for Pakistani youth leadership on the global stage.
The QECT 100 Young Leaders Award is a special recognition by the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Trust, celebrating the centenary of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. One hundred exceptional young leaders were selected from across the 56 nations of the Commonwealth in honour of this historic milestone, each representing the values of service, leadership, and social change that Her Late Majesty championed throughout her reign. Joshua and Danish were among only five Pakistanis selected for this honour, chosen from thousands of applicants across the Commonwealth.
Joshua Dilawar is a Pakistani development practitioner, social innovator, and youth leader working at the intersection of inclusion, health, and gender equality. He serves as the National Coordinator of Y-PEER Pakistan and is affiliated with different organizations for community development like the Institute for Social and Youth Development (ISYD), Pakistan Advocacy Network (PAN) and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA). Over the course of his career, Joshua has championed the rights and leadership of underserved communities — including persons with disabilities, women, religious minorities, and transgender communities, through youth-led advocacy, peer education, community empowerment, and policy engagement across Pakistan.
Danish Sohail is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Young Changemakers, a youth-led organisation dedicated to nurturing the next generation of leaders and driving youth-led social change across Pakistan through the transformative power of arts, creative expression, and culture-based approaches for behaviour change. Through innovative programming that harnesses storytelling, performance, and artistic advocacy, The Young Changemakers empowers young people to become catalysts for positive change in their communities.
Both awardees were recognised for their outstanding contributions to their communities and their unwavering commitment to advancing the values of equity, inclusion, and justice across the Commonwealth.
Joshua said, “This recognition is not mine alone, it belongs to every young person, every team member, every community, and every partner who has walked this journey with me. This award is not the end of a journey, it is the beginning of a greater responsibility. I stood at St. James’s Palace representing Pakistan especially the christian community, representing every neglected community that society has tried to silence, and representing every young person who was told their dreams were too big. They are not. Pakistan’s youth leaders are making significant change across the world, and today, the world took notice.”
Danish said, “This moment receiving the award and at St. James’s Palace, in the presence of Their Majesties The King and The Queen, is proof that young people from Pakistan, regardless of background or belief, can stand on the world’s greatest stages and make their mark. I believe in the power of arts, of creativity, and of young people to rewrite the narratives that have held communities back for generations. This award fuels that belief even further. To every young changemaker in Pakistan, your time is now. Dream boldly, act fearlessly, and never underestimate the change you carry within you.”