The British Citizen Youth Award, now in its ninth year, will be honouring 22 young people from across the UK that have made a positive impact on their communities and wider society.
These selfless young people have shown kindness and commitment to a multitude of causes, raising funds and awareness, and are all dedicated to making a difference. Each inspirational young person will be presented with the BCyA Medal of Honour at The Palace of Westminster on 30th October 2025 and are invited to use the post-nominals ‘BCyA’, as a legacy of their achievements and endeavours.
Rafael Tahan from North London is one of the 2025 BCyA Roll of Honour Recipients. In 2023, at just seven years old, Rafael was diagnosed with leukaemia, wrenching him from his normal world of school, football and play-dates, into a world of painful medical treatment. Long and unexpected hospital stays, invasive and frightening procedures, over 100 blood transfusions, 20 general anaesthetics and debilitating side effects became his new reality.
While undergoing treatment, Rafael wanted to help others and has generated £418,000 for two different charities to support young people suffering from cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Camp Simcha, a Jewish faith charity supporting children and families who suffer with life-changing health issues, and Chai Cancer Care, a national cancer support organisation.
Rafael shared his personal story in a fundraising film for Camp Simcha, receiving 34,000 views on his journey, raising awareness of childhood cancer and the impact is has on children and their families. At just seven-years-old, while suffering from daily pain, Rafael pushed himself to make a difference beyond his own diagnosis. By sharing his story Rafael has impacted both his local community and communities nationally. His focus is now looking to the future, to one day becoming a Camp Simcha volunteer, to support them as he has been supported since his diagnosis.
The BCyA Medal of Honour is presented to only a small number of exceptional young individuals annually. The British Citizen Youth Award in partnership with Specsavers, is widely viewed as the nation’s way of recognising extraordinary, everyday young people for exceptional endeavour and is open to any person aged 18 or under who is committed to helping others.
In addition to the 22 individual medallists, one group of young people is honoured with The Dame Mary Perkins British Citizen Group Award. This unique accolade is only open to groups of young people and will be presented with an Official Presentation Plaque, Medal and Certificate of Honour.
“We are delighted to be able to recognise these amazing individuals with a BCyA. It is both heartening and uplifting to know that so many young people are consciously contributing to causes such as the environment, climate change, education, and creating awareness and fundraising for hospitals, medical research and charities. The youth of today are truly the leaders of tomorrow and we are humbled that BCyA Patron Dame Mary, who is also founder of Specsavers, has put her name to the prestigious group accolade, enabling us to broaden its recognition of young people in society”, stated Mike Faulkner, Director of the BCyA.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 medal presentations, register online at www.britishcitizenyouthawards.co.uk.