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AGF

AGF Community Impact Awards

AGF Community Impact Youth Awards

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Selection Criteria

AGF Community Impact Youth Awards recognize young people across the AGF ecosystem whose journeys reflect resilience, innovation, sustainability, leadership, and meaningful contribution.

The Awards are designed to surface stories of young people who are actively learning, growing, and shaping positive change in different ways. They recognize the value of visible impact and personal progress, reflecting the spirit of AGF’s work to expand opportunity, support growth, and enable youth to contribute meaningfully to their communities and future pathways.

The award categories serve as platforms for applicants to share how they have taken action, responded to challenges, applied their skills, or demonstrated leadership, whether through community action, digital innovation, environmental responsibility, or resilience in the face of challenge.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Be Emirati or Arab.
  • Be 13 years old or above at the time of application.
  • Be connected to the AGF ecosystem through participation in an AGF program, alumni network, or AGF partner initiative.
  • Complete the Youth Awards application form directly.
  • Select and complete the application for one award category that best reflects their story, contribution, or journey

Categories

The Community Changemaker - Social impact and community action

Focus: A community issue

you noticed, the action you took, who benefited, and what changed or could continue to change.

This category recognizes a young person who has taken practical action to support people or address a challenge in their community. The challenge may be social, educational, cultural, economic, or related to access, inclusion, wellbeing, or opportunity.

This could include raising awareness, supporting peers, organizing a community activity, improving access to resources, creating a youth-led initiative, or helping a specific group of people feel more supported or included.

What a strong application may show

Your application may show that you:

  • Identified a challenge affecting a specific group or community.
  • Took action through an initiative, campaign, event, club, peer network, awareness activity, or community project.
  • Helped improve access, inclusion, participation, wellbeing, belonging, awareness, or opportunity.
  • Worked with or listened to the people affected by the issue.
  • Can show evidence of what you did, such as people reached, sessions delivered, volunteers involved, resources shared, or awareness raised.
  • Show that the effort could continue, be repeated, or inspire others.

Examples of Eligible Work

Organizing an awareness or advocacy campaign on an issue that matters to your community.

  • Creating a peer support initiative for students or young people.
  • Leading a project that serves or supports a community.
  • Organizing outreach activities that respond to a social or educational need.
  • Building a youth-led club, campaign, or network focused on inclusion, participation, or community wellbeing.
The Resilient - Perseverance through adversity

Focus: a challenge you faced, how you responded, and how you continued progressing despite the barrier

This category recognizes a young person who has shown strength, determination, and perseverance when facing challenges. The challenge may be personal, academic, financial, health-related, family-related, social, or connected to access and opportunity.

This category is about showing how you kept learning, growing, participating, or working toward your goals even when things were difficult.

What a strong application may show

Your application may show that you:

  • Continued making an effort over time, despite a challenge or barrier.
  • Found ways to adapt, recover, or keep going after a setback.
  • Continued progressing in your education, training, work, skills, or personal development.
  • Took responsibility for your growth and looked for ways forward.
  • Can show evidence of your progress, effort, or continued participation.

Note: You do not need to share sensitive personal details that you are not comfortable sharing. You only need to share enough to help reviewers understand your journey and progress.

Examples of Eligible Work or Journeys

  • Continuing your education or training despite financial, family, health, academic, or access-related challenges.
  • Restarting or continuing after interruption, delay, or setback.
  • Balancing learning with work, caregiving, family responsibilities, or personal responsibilities.
  • Finding another way to continue learning, participating, volunteering, working, or building skills.
  • Returning to a goal after a difficult period and showing renewed effort.
The Digital Pioneer - Digital, AI, or technology-enabled innovation

Focus: a digital, AI, data, or technology solution you used or created, why it was needed, and how it was useful.

This category recognizes a young person who has used technology in a practical, creative, and responsible way to solve a problem or improve something. This could include using digital tools, AI, data, websites, apps, online platforms, automation, or digital content to support learning, work, entrepreneurship, accessibility, productivity, or community impact.

What a strong application may show

Your application may show that you:

  • Identified a problem or opportunity where technology could help.
  • Used, adapted, or created a digital tool, AI workflow, platform, prototype, or resource.
  • Applied digital, AI, or data skills in a practical way.
  • Used technology responsibly, especially when it comes to privacy, accuracy, ethics, inclusion, or human oversight.
  • Showed creativity by using existing tools in a new way or building something new.
  • Can show that your idea was tested, used, helpful, or has potential to grow.

Examples of Eligible Work

  • Building a website, app, online resource, digital campaign, automation, or prototype that solves a clear problem.
  • Using data analysis, AI, or digital platforms to improve a service, project, business, or community initiative.
  • Creating digital content, tools, or resources that improve access to learning.
  • Using technology to support inclusion, accessibility, communication, or service delivery.
  • Creating an AI-supported process or digital workflow that saves time, improves quality, or helps people access information or support.
The Green Innovator - Sustainability and environmental action

Focus: a sustainability or environmental issue you addressed, the action you took, and what changed or could continue to change.

This category recognizes a young person who has taken action to support environmental sustainability or long-term community wellbeing.

This could include work related to climate awareness, recycling, waste reduction, responsible consumption, resource efficiency, circular economy, green skills, sustainable entrepreneurship, or making sustainability more practical in a school, university, workplace, business, or community.

What a strong application may show

Your application may show that you:

  • Identified a clear environmental, climate, resource, or sustainability-related challenge.
  • Took action through a project, product, service, initiative, awareness activity, or behavior-change effort.
  • Helped raise awareness, reduce waste, save resources, or reach people.
  • Made sustainability practical, accessible, or relevant to your community.
  • Can show evidence of what you did, such as people reached, activities delivered, resources saved, waste reduced, or awareness raised.
  • Show that the effort could continue, be repeated, or inspire others.

Examples of Eligible Work

  • Running a recycling, waste reduction, or responsible consumption initiative.
  • Creating a sustainability awareness campaign in a community.
  • Developing a sustainable product, service, business idea, or community solution.
  • Promoting green skills, climate awareness, or sustainable entrepreneurship among peers.
  • Organizing an activity that encourages people to adopt more sustainable habits.
Selection Criteria - Youth

The same selection criteria apply across all four categories.

1. Connection to the selected category

A strong application should clearly show why the selected category is the right fit.

Your application should explain:

  • How your story connects to the category you selected.
  • Why this category best reflects your journey, action, or contribution.
  • What part of your experience is most relevant to the award.

For example, if you apply for The Community Changemaker, your application should focus on community action and social impact. If you apply for The Digital Pioneer, it should focus on how you used digital tools, AI, data, or technology.

2. Clear examples and evidence

A strong application should include specific examples and evidence that help reviewers understand what you did.

Evidence may include:

  • Project summaries
  • Photos or videos
  • Links or portfolios
  • Certificates
  • Testimonials or references
  • Reports or feedback
  • Examples of your work, activities, or outputs

The strongest applications do not only say “I made an impact” or “I worked hard.” They explain what happened, what role you played, and why your effort matters.

3. Action, effort, or progress

A strong application should show that you took action, made progress, supported others, created something, led an effort, or continued moving forward despite challenges.

This may include:

  • Starting or contributing to an initiative, project, campaign, activity, or solution.
  • Supporting others or improving access, awareness, inclusion, opportunity, or wellbeing.
  • Continuing to learn, grow, or move forward after a challenge or setback.
  • Using your skills, tools, creativity, or experience to address a real issue.
  • Taking practical steps, even if the work is still growing or developing.

Your application should explain your specific role, effort, contribution, or progress.

4. Impact and potential to inspire

A strong application should show the difference your effort made, or how it could continue, grow, or inspire others.

Impact can be shown in different ways. It may include:

  • People reached
  • Sessions or activities delivered
  • Resources shared or distributed
  • Volunteers involved
  • Feedback received
  • Awareness raised
  • Behavior changed
  • Barriers overcome
  • A tool, idea, project, or solution tested

Impact does not need to be large or perfect. Early-stage, small-scale, or resource-limited efforts are welcome when they show clear purpose, meaningful effort, and credible evidence.