LONDON, England — Jamaica’s Miguel ‘Steppa’ Williams has been named Commonwealth Caribbean Youth Worker of the Year 2015.

He was one of two Jamaicans shortlisted for the regional award, and one of only three in the Caribbean. Edward Dixon, who mentors at-risk youth through Youth Crime Watch Jamaica, was the other Jamaican.

Williams, who is in his early thirties, is an artiste, a poet, lecturer and PhD student. He is senior development specialist in the National Centre for Youth Development in the Ministry of Youth and Culture. He is the founder and CEO of Forward Step Foundation, through which he uses music and other creative forms of engagement in prisons and among gangs to promote youth empowerment. The foundation works in areas of social enterprise, creative arts, education, safety and sexual and reproductive health.

Williams shot to fame in April this year when he got the rare opportunity to ask a question of United States President Barack Obama while hosting 350 outstanding youth leaders from the island at the launch of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative at the University of the West Indies.

He drew wild cheers when he greeted the president in Rastafarian lingo, saying, “Mr President. More life and blessings on you and yuh family. …You can call I and I ‘Steppa’.”

Yesterday, he explained what the commonwealth award meant to him.

“For me, to be recognised with a Commonwealth Youth Worker Award is a good thing. It is a pat on the shoulder to say, ‘Yeah man. Yuh doing something good’. The young people who I work with, this award is really for them. But there are a lot of youth workers out there who may not have been nominated who are doing much greater work,” he said on receiving the award.

“When you see the needs of young people and the lack of opportunities and tribalism that presents itself, you realise youth need proper guidance. Sometimes I get a youth who is 15 and has two counts of murder, or a young girl who is 12 and has her second pregnancy, or situations of abuse. If they are not intercepted, there are a lot of problems. On the other hand, there are a lot of youth out there sitting on greatness, unseen and not knowing their own potential. As a youth worker you can aid them,” he said, urging other young people to join the cause.

Williams was one of five youth workers honoured by the Commonwealth Secretariat yesterday. The others were Pakistan’s Muhammad Shahzad Khan (Asia), Christopher Mizzi of Malta (Europe), and Ioane Tupou Nawaikula from Fiji (Pacific), who rounded out the regional awards.

The Commonwealth-wide award — Youth Worker of the Year for 2015 — went to Victor Ochen, founder of the African Youth Initiative Network in Uganda. The NGO works to empower young people to promote democratic leadership and civic engagement in communities that have faced conflict.

Speaking at the awards ceremony at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said the contribution of youth workers was vital to community cohesion and nation building.

“Their impact on individual development and public well-being is beyond measure – but not beyond recognition. That is why the Commonwealth pioneered professional accreditation of youth work, with training and diplomas to set standards and acknowledge the status of these specialist workers,” he said.

“The Commonwealth Youth Worker of the Year Awards add to the distinction of the profession, and acknowledge the immense contribution being made across our member states through innovative initiatives led by brave and inspirational youth workers, often in dangerous circumstances and at considerable personal risk. The recipients of these 2015 awards make heroic contributions, empowering young people to change their lives for the better, building safer and more inclusive societies. They exemplify all that is best in the Commonwealth, and embody the values and principles of our Charter,” the secretary general continued.

The theme for Youth Work Week 2015, November 2-8, is ‘Youth Workers Creating Paths to Peace’. The secretariat explained that it acknowledges the role that youth development workers around the world play in fostering social cohesion, peace and security in society.

Commonwealth Youth Work Week is an initiative of the Commonwealth Youth Programme organised in partnership with the United Kingdom’s National Youth Agency. During the week, youth workers, youth workers’ associations and other partners campaign for greater recognition of the relevance of youth work, as well as for greater investment in the youth work sector.

“Youth Work Week is about giving the youth worker sector, which is often unheralded and under-resourced, the international recognition it rightly deserves. As young people are confronted with challenges including marginalisation and unemployment, we must recognise and invest in this vital sector that uncovers young people’s greatness and helps them grow and contribute to nation-building,” added Katherine Ellis, director of Youth at the Commonwealth Secretariat.