APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz receives the ‘Legacy Award,’ has tea with Prince William

APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz received the 2019 Legacy Award for the Diana Award on November 26. Prior to receiving the award from Lady Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, Ahmad attended a tea hosted by Prince William at Kensington Palace, where the Prince interacted with the recipients.

Ahmad shared pictures from the event on his social media, adding that William was delighted to have visited Pakistan.

Ahmed, now 18, has become the first Pakistani to receive the Princess Diana Award for his anti-radicalization campaign. He was only 14 when the Taliban attacked his school in Peshawar in 2014. He managed to save himself by pretending to be lying dead but he witnessed the horror of the massacre and his teacher get set on fire by terrorist militants. He suffered multiple injuries on his arm; was given special treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Though Ahmad survived the attack, he lost his brother in the deadly attack.

According to Kensington Palace, the 2019 Legacy Awards from the Diana Award “celebrate the achievements of 20 outstanding young leaders, visionaries and role models from across the world, aged 12-25, who have demonstrated their ability to inspire and mobilise new generations to serve their communities.”

The Legacy Award is handed out every two years, and winners are only eligible if they have previously received a Diana Award within the two-year period. This year’s winners included young people from the UK, Pakistan, Canada, Tanzania, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria and India.

Winners are determined by an independent judging panel, which included Baroness Lawrence, Holly Branson, and Alex Cruz.

“This ceremony is about celebrating young people for their selfless contribution to society, their courage and bravery, and demonstrating to young people that we value them,” said Tessy Ojo, the Diana Award’s Chief Executive Officer in a statement on its official website.

“We believe that valuing young people means investing in them so we are delighted that our Legacy Award recipients will have access to our unique development programme ensuring they continue to be positive trailblazers for their generation.”

The inaugural winners were revealed in 2017, and Princes William and Harry attended the award ceremony. This year’s ceremony was attended by Earl Spencer, Diana’s younger brother.