A HARROW Way pupil and Member of Youth Parliament is celebrating after being nominated for an award celebrating the achievements of grass-roots communities.

Dmitrijs Meiksans, 14, has been nominated for the Positive Role Model award in his age category at the National Diversity Awards 2020.

The nomination is in recognition of his work within the youth sector, his dedication to supporting young people’s mental health and speaking out about bullying.

“Shocked is not the word to describe what I am feeling,” said Dmitrijs, who is the Youth Member of Parliament for North West Hampshire.

“I feel grateful and thankful to whoever nominated me for this honourable award.”

He continued: “I never knew that by doing something you are passionate about will win you anything. I simply started with a goal to make a difference to young people’s lives and to provide comfort and inspire those who have struggled with their mental health and those who have experienced bullying.”

Dmitrijs’ involvement with the local community extends beyond his role as a Youth Member of Parliament.

He is the Vice-Chair of the Hampshire Youth Network, Youth Ambassador for Andover-based charity Unity and the Youth Advisor to the Board of Trustees for Andover Trees United.

Terry Bishop, CEO for Unity, said: “Dmitrijs is a lovely young man who has already made a good impression on staff and volunteers in Unity.

“As our Youth Ambassador, he is quick to respond and is utterly committed to helping people across our community. His keenness, sense of duty and bright ideas are a credit to him and he thoroughly deserves to be recognised for his efforts to help those with protected characteristics.

“He is an exceptional young man and a credit to Hampshire, Unity and his family.”

Voting for the award is open now and will remain so until Friday, May 15. To find out more or to vote for Dmitrijs go to www.tinyurl.com/DMKVoteVote