Student Maya recognised with Diana Legacy award in London

Student Maya recognised with Diana Legacy award in London

11 December 2019

A STUDENT from Shimna Integrated College has been presented with a Diana Legacy award by Earl Spencer, the brother of the late Princess of Wales.

Maya Ballentine was one of only 20 recipients from across the world who was judged to embody Princess Diana’s qualities of kindness, compassion and service.

The 17 year-old from Newcastle received her award at a glittering ceremony in London recently.

Maya and this year’s other winners also met the Duke of Cambridge ahead of the main ceremony.

The winners were selected from a poll of nominations by an independent judging panel, including Baroness Lawrence, Holly Branson and British Airways CEO Alex Cruz.

John McCloskey, head of Integrated and Religious Studies at Shimna, praised the A-Level student as someone “who inspires others with her drive to fight for human rights for all”.

He said: “We are immensely proud of Maya, as we are of all our young activists at Shimna. For over five years, we have watched Maya become an upstander for those whose rights have been denied. She has acted in solidarity with refugees, ethnic and religious minorities, the LGBTQ+ community and those imprisoned for demanding equality across the world. Maya speaks with passion and compassion.

“She sees the intrinsic value of every person and gives a voice, her voice, to those who cannot speak. Maya’s impact on her peers is extraordinary. Her quiet and dignified approach to activism makes an enormous impact in a way that keeps the spotlight on the issue and away from her. 

“It is therefore fitting that this recognition, which is given retrospectively for work completed by activists who have no expectation of recognition, has been awarded to Maya.”

Maya said she was very surprised to have been given the Diana Legacy award and was overwhelmed by meeting with the other recipients.

“It’s been great to meet the others and to find out all about the work that they are doing globally,” she said.

She added that her awareness of social issues and the need to be kind and supportive of everyone started at home and was nurtured and supported at Shimna.

“My parents have always told me to stand up for people who are being wronged whether they are in your immediate peer group or not and I feel that I got opportunities in Shimna from working with the Amnesty group and the GayStraightAlliance (GSA) group that I wouldn’t have got at any other school,” she said.

“I feel that at school I was encouraged and supported to have a voice and for that voice to be really listened to and encouraged.”

Maya campaigns tirelessly on issues of equality and social justice. She is a leading member of Shimna Integrated College GayStraightAlliance (GSA) and promotes equality by speaking at school assemblies and on national television.  

She addressed a crowd of 20,000 people at an equal marriage rally in Belfast when she was just 16.

Maya is a founding member of the school’s Umbrella Group which was established in 2016 in response to concerns about Muslims becoming victims of reprisal in the local area. 

She also works at the forefront of the Amnesty International group in the school and has travelled to London to act as a voice of the youth in Northern Ireland.