The youth of today have incredible stories to tell and loads of dreams to fulfil and the Welwyn Hatfield Youth Awards celebrate these young people in recognition of all that they have achieved.

The first ever Youth Awards ceremony took place at Campus West, Welwyn Garden City on Valentine's Day, recognising those individuals who have excelled, exceeded expectations and overcome various challenges in their chosen categories.

The ceremony was hosted Ethan Summers, Chair of Welwyn Hatfield Youth Council and Abbie Cook, a local youth councillor.

They presented the awards for six different categories and the winners were:

Young Artist – Archie Smith

Young Entrepreneur – Daniyaal Anawar

Young Sportsperson – Tatiana Flores

Young Volunteer – Holly Cooper

Young Carer – Eren Aslan

Inspirational Young Person – Emre Souleiman and Kimberly Nkomo

Throughout the evening, there were multiple performances by young people from the Welwyn Hatfield area, including the FK Dance Academy, singer Imogen Davis and cellist Ella Harrison.

Executive member for leisure and community safety, Cllr Bernard Sarson, said: “2021 has been a challenging year for everyone, but particularly for children and young people. I had the difficult decision of sitting on the judging panel for all six categories.

"I can confidently say that all nominees had excellent achievements throughout 2021 and the calibre of applications this year was very high. A huge congratulations from me, and from the council, to the nominees and the winners, you are all role models within your community”.

Council leader Cllr Tony Kingbury said: “I was delighted to attend our first ever Youth Awards. I was amazed not only by the truly amazing stories of all of the nominees and the award winners, but also by the exceptional talent of the performers. I hope to see some of our nominees again next year. I would also like to say thank you to everyone that supported the Awards and helped make the night such a success”.

To find out more about the Youth Awards, go to one.welhat.gov.uk/youthawardsceremony