KINGSTON, Jamaica— A total of 87 nominees have been shortlisted for the 12 categories of the 2019 Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence (PMYA), which is the highest attainable award for young people in Jamaica.

The ceremony will be held this Saturday on the lawns of Jamaica House.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, in a release today said approximately 100 young people were nominated in the traditional 11 categories of which 57 candidates were shortlisted.

Sixty people were nominated in the recently added Nation Builder category, which highlights the work of young people in community volunteerism and development, with 30 being shortlisted.

“Our prime minister and government remain committed to celebrating and awarding the youth of Jamaica who continue to lead, inspire and transform Jamaica and the world by excelling in their respective fields. That is the very essence of the PMYA: to engage, empower and celebrate our youth,” said State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Alando Terrelonge.

The minister added: “As a government, we view young people as our partners in nation building. There can be no growth, development, peace, security, or prosperity, without youth at the table. The youth are not just leaders of tomorrow; they are the transformative force of today, upon whose shoulders our hope of advancing the welfare of Jamaica and the whole human race rests.”

According to the ministry, the categories that fielded the most nominees are Arts and Culture, Sports, Leadership, Youth Development, Academics and Nation Builder.

The ministry indicated that strides had been made in the categories of Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise, Innovation in Science and Technology and International Achievement.

The ministry also noted an increase in nominations for Agriculture and Environmental Protection.

Introduced in 1998, the Prime Minister’s National Youth Awards for Excellence was conceptualized to recognise young Jamaicans aged 15 to 29 years. 

Since its inception, over 300 awards have been conferred.  

This year’s ceremony will be a three-hour celebration of talented young people being entertained by top acts within the local creative industry.

This year’s annual Youth Month celebration is themed “The Jamaican Youth Are LIT – They Lead, Inspire and Transform Jamaica and our world.”