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The Norwood School

Raising the voices of her local community. Nicole Fernandes de Silva

Since winning last year’s under-21 category for her first art exhibition, a series of portraits of young people in South London entitled ‘Through My Eyes’, Nicole Fernandes de Silva has become increasingly confident with her photography.

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Lockdown has been a challenge for many people in many ways, but Nicole is grateful that she’s been able to continue to raise awareness of the struggles young people within her community face through her passion for photography. For her final A Level project, she is working on a ‘lockdown diary’ in which she photographs herself in the same position each day in order to represent the struggle students are currently facing as their lives take on an increasingly repetitive cycle.

She advises anyone looking to inspire change to pick a subject they are truly passionate about, which in turn allows their confidence and pride to shine through. “Entering the competition, as scary as it may be, helps boost your confidence, and you become proud that you are able to do something special with your talent.”

Despite the global issues we face today, there is so much hope in the many inspirational stories we see and hear about incredible young people. We can’t wait to meet the next Canon Young Champion of the Year* at this year’s Global Good Awards and find out more about the amazing work young activists are doing to encourage the social and environmental change we so desperately need.

Well done Nicole!