The National Youth Institute (INJU) and Parliament presented the third edition of the INJU Awards, which will distinguish young people from all over the country in sports, social commitment, entrepreneurship, animal welfare, science, innovation and the environment, and art and culture. Applications will be received until July 31 and the award ceremony will take place on August 12. Young people between 14 and 29 years old can participate.
The activity, held this Friday the 17th at the INJU House, was attended by the Minister of Social Development, MartĂn Lema; the promoter of the Sembrando program, Lorena Ponce de LeĂłn; the undersecretary of the portfolio, Andrea Brugman; the director of the INJU, Felipe Paullier, and MaritĂ© MĂ©ndez, a young woman recognized by the INJU Awards in the 2021 edition, in the Science, Innovation and Environment category.
In addition, Sport, Social Commitment, Entrepreneurship, Animal Welfare, and Art and Culture complete the six categories that will be awarded on this occasion.
“For us, young people are the present,” said Lema, adding that, for this reason, it is so important to support the INJU, especially in work related to suicide prevention, mental health and the university campus.
He specified that the distinctions are part of an action plan to generate a greater number of tools and opportunities. “The actions have to be complementary in search of the comprehensive support that today’s youth requires,” she said.
Paullier, meanwhile, expressed that it is a way to make positive stories visible throughout the country and recognize them from the INJU, with the support of Parliament.
“Today we are opening the nominations for these awards and we have managed to institutionalize them continuously and more and more young people nominate their stories and profiles in order to be recognized,” he said.
The national jury in each category is made up of Lorena Ponce de LeĂłn; by the Undersecretary of Environment, Gerardo Amarilla; elite athlete Dolores Moreira; the director of the National Sports Secretariat, Sebastián Bauzá; the director of the National Ballet of Sodre, MarĂa Noel Ricceto; the executive director of the Animal Welfare Institute, Marcela Delgado, and representatives of the organization Canastas.uy.
Applicants between the ages of 14 and 29 may apply through the institute’s website, inju.gub.uy, until July 31, 2022. On August 12, International Youth Day, the awards will be presented, in the Hall of the Lost Steps of the Legislative Palace.
With this new edition, the aim is to consolidate the program as a recognition tool for young people by the State from the Parliament, the INJU and the departmental governments through the Network of Youth Offices.
