Northampton recipient of OBE using his award to champion young people
Alex Holmes is urging people to nominate young people for the Diana Award.
A Northamptonshire anti-bullying campaigner hopes their OBE will help highlight their work with the Diana Award.
Alex Holmes began his work aged just 16 in Deanshanger and 20 years on he's been recognised in the New Years Honours List, for services to children and young people.
He is the founder of the peer-to-peer Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Programme, which he began aged just 16. It's expanded to now work with 5,000 schools across the world. The programme is a network of trained young people dedicated to preventing all types of bullying, particularly in schools.
He's using his OBE to help champion others though, through his work with the Diana Award.
Alex tells us more about the award:
"The Diana Award exists to recognise young people who, follow in Dana's the late Princess of Wales's footsteps, her values of compassion, service and kindness. We recognise global change makers aged 9 to 25 across the globe."
Rather than revel in his own success Alex is encouraging others to nominate young people for the Diana Award, if you recognise a young person that's made an amazing contribution:
" We definitely recommend you to check out the website, nominate them and know that actually that that sort of bit of recognition spur, that I received, you know, really does make a difference. So yeah, it's worth recognising the difference that young people are making to society."
He says this year his focus will be on spreading his Anti Bullying Ambassador programme and trying to, reduce bullying.
"We're seeing really, really good results in that and also around mentoring. We're quite big believers in matching young people with a business mentor from the world of work because we think that, exposure to what career options and that confidence and self esteem that can be built from mental relationship is really valuable."
You can find out more about the Diana Award here.
Find details for Alex, the Diana Award and his Anti Bullying Programme on social media using the following handles @DianaAward @AntiBullyingPro and @abcholmes