A group of 16 remarkable young people from Leicester and Leicestershire along with their families and friends joined the Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire at County Hall on 30 April 2026 for a ceremony to celebrate their achievements as the finalists of the 2026 awards.
Rhianna Reid received the top prize of the evening, becoming the Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year 2026.
This year’s awards evening and dinner was hosted by the Lord-Lieutenant, Mike Kapur OBE CStJ, supported by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant Col Richard Hurwood DL, Deputy Lieutenants Mrs Sally Bowie DL and Mrs Diana Brooks MBE DL, along with panel members Kay Hardiman and Byron Dixon OBE.
The four finalists shortlisted for each of the categories were recognised for their dedication in going above and beyond to help others and their remarkable outstanding personal achievements.
The category winners were:
Young person of Courage – Eve who lives in the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough
Young Volunteer (and Young Person of the year) - Rhianna Reid who attends Loughborough College
Young Leader - Hamza Tempah who lives in Leicester
Young Artist - Olivia Van Der Ende who attends Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
After hearing her name announced as the Young Person of the Year 2026, Rhianna said: “When I won the Young Volunteer Award 2026, to be honest Mike (Kapur) looked at me before he said it and even after he said it, I was completely shocked, I couldn’t quite believe that I was hearing my name. Then when my name was read out as the overall Young Person of the Year my heart was beating so fast, I just couldn't believe it, I was so shocked!”
Once again, our city and county’s young people are an inspiration to us all. It is always a privilege for me to host this annual awards event and share these extraordinary young people’s stories with our guests and supporters. Their bravery, creativity, strength of spirit and selflessness continues to amaze me.
As Lord-Lieutenant, I am determined to make sure that the individual talents and outstanding contributions of every one of our finalists are recognised and appreciated more widely within our communities now and in the future.
All too often our young people go unnoticed by the wider community. I hope that these awards will continue to offer an opportunity to shine a spotlight on them, as they have done since they were first introduced back in 2006. As we look forward to celebrating the 20th year of these awards, I would encourage anyone who knows a young person they think deserves recognition and encouragement for their endeavours to look out for details of the 2027 awards later in the year.
Person:Mike Kapur OBE CStJ, Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire
The awards are sponsored by a variety of organisations offering services to young people and are supported by Leicestershire County and Leicester City Councils, together with universities and the business community, and seek to identify and reward the very best examples of achievement by young people locally. For more information visit the Lord-Lieutenant's page.
About the awards scheme
A panel of judges which included young people, chaired by the Lord-Lieutenant, considered all nominations meeting the criteria for the award. The judges shortlisted four young finalists in each category of the award.
The finalists each received a framed certificate together with a prize.
Category winners each receive a prize to the value of £500.
The overall Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year also receives a special trophy.
More than 80 nominations were received for this year’s Lord-Lieutenant’s awards.
2026 CATEGORY WINNER CITATIONS
Young person of Courage - Eve is 18 Years old
Eve founded Let's Make A Difference as a result of her experiences with selective mutism and autism, which left her unable to speak when she began high school. During the pandemic, she was encouraged to use British Sign Language as an alternative communication method. After learning it, Eve taught a friend, and soon her teachers, classmates, and family members expressed interest in learning as well.
Eve never wanted another young person to feel like they didn’t have a voice, but recognised that not everyone had the same capacity to learn in a structured way. Eve created Let’s Make a Difference to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to communicate and thrive, even when spoken language did not come naturally.
Her SEND advocacy developed organically from her own experience with special educational needs. Today, Eve has hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple social media platforms, including more than 750,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares one sign each day in Sign Supported English to help promote inclusive and effective communication.
Recently, Eve became a patron of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, using her platform to raise awareness of important social issues and speak out against bullying. Eve has shown true commitment to promoting empathy and inclusivity in her videos, encouraging viewers to respect one another and to always choose to be kind.
Eve is a true inspiration to all young people and especially to those with special educational needs, as well as to their families, and professionals.
Young Volunteer (and Young Person of the year) - Rhianna Reid is 18 years old and attends Loughborough College
Rhianna is a young carer for her dad and sister. During her engagement with youth workers at Leicestershire County Council, she has had a significant impact on services for young carers. She balances this volunteering alongside a college course, working, learning to drive and her caring responsibilities, always striving to do more to support others around her.
Through the support that Rhianna received, she recognised her own resolve to help others in a similar situation. She has grown from a shy individual to bravely sharing her own lived experience, showing others that they are not alone. She presented her personal story to more than 100 people to raise awareness of what a young carer’s life might look like, receiving a standing ovation for the honesty and vulnerability that she showed.
Rhianna is committed to raising the profile of young carers and improving the support given to others. She dedicates her free time to designing and developing training for people who may encounter young carers to ensure they get the support they need. She has developed and delivered presentations, posters, poems, and resources for professional use and training. She goes above and beyond to ensure projects she is involved with are produced to the highest quality, and her impact on raising awareness of the challenges faced by young carers is immeasurable.
The selflessness and resilience that Rhianna has shown in sharing her life and journey as a young carer is nothing short of incredible, and her continuous determination to improve support for young carers is truly inspirational.
Young Leader - Mohammed Hamza Tempah is 16 years old and lives in Leicester.
Hamza has shown real leadership as a newcomer to the Care Experience Consultants group within Leicester City Council, stepping up to lead the younger children in care council and shaping engagement with the corporate parent board.
Hamza has taken lead on a Safer Spaces Project supported by Bernardo's for black and brown young children in care, leading on the focus group to ensure that the voices of young people from minority backgrounds are heard and respected. Following this, Hamza took an opportunity provided by Coventry University to work with them to create a toolkit and report for professionals to be delivered for training purposes. Through this project Hamza is leading not only his peers in the Care Experience Consultants, but also adult professionals, teaching them what to take into account to make safer spaces for young people in care.
Hamza took lead in looking over the report and toolkit and gave feedback to Coventry University where changes needed to be made. This led to Hamza being invited to attend the House of Lords to present the report, where he spoke eloquently and powerfully about his experiences in care and the effect that inappropriate placement had on him. His presentation highlighted the importance of creating safer spaces for young children in care, and the structural barriers that still exist in the system.
Hamza’s dedicated leadership has ensured that this piece of work will provide a voice for black and brown young people in care locally and nationally, and will have lasting benefits for future generations.
Young Artist - Olivia Van Der Ende is 17 years old and attends Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College.
Olivia has had a deep love of drawing and painting from a very young age and now dedicates an extraordinary 20 to 30 hours every week to developing her practice. She works with a level of discipline, focus, and commitment far beyond her years, driven by a clear ambition to become a professional artist. This dedication has already resulted in significant achievement, including a Grade 9 at GCSE Fine Art and her current studies in A Level Art, Design and Craft, where she continues to push herself creatively and technically.
Olivia is best known for her portrait work, particularly her ability to capture emotion through facial expression and the intensity of the eyes. Her work demonstrates both technical skill and emotional depth. Her portfolio shows impressive breadth, including highly detailed pencil drawings, expressive acrylic paintings, and more recently oil paintings, a challenging medium which she has embraced with enthusiasm and confidence.
Her achievements include a solo exhibition in her local village, showcasing a body of work to the public, and being a two-time winner of the Attenborough Open Award, with her winning pieces exhibited at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. These accomplishments reflect both the quality and consistency of her work.
Olivia’s commitment, work ethic, and passion for art are truly exceptional. She works incredibly hard, continually strives to improve, and has already achieved more than many artists twice her age.