Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex. It honours young people for going above and beyond in their daily life to create and sustain positive change.
Yusuf founded 'The Aspiring Medics' (TAM) to help students from diverse backgrounds pursue careers in medicine. TAM offers digital courses, work experience, and interview preparation, reaching over 350,000 views on their website and YouTube. Yusuf's mission is to democratise the application process and tackle educational inequity, and TAM has provided free access to courses for over 500 state school students, and empowers aspiring medics through role models, webinars, and diverse student stories. Growing up on a council estate, Yusuf understood that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not, and is determined to help provide it where they can.
Tessy Ojo CBE, CEO of The Diana Award, commented: “We warmly congratulate our new Diana Award recipients from the UK and across the world who are changemakers for their generation. These young people demonstrate that young people have the power to change the world; a belief also held by Diana Princess of Wales. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own changemaking journey.”
Yusuf Ben-Tarifite commented: "I'm so grateful to have received this award and it's a testament to all the hard work from the whole community at The Aspiring Medics comprised of medical students and doctors. In particular, our Online Work Experience Course is now comprised of over 100+ hours of videos, PDF handouts and flashcards that is completely free to all students. I'm excited to see where the future takes us"
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Young activists from across the world honoured with 2023 Diana Award