Malta's Junior Achievement Young Enterprise (Jaye) Foundation was presented with two awards at the Junior Achievement (JA) Europe Annual General Assembly, held in Brussels.

For over 30 years, Jaye Malta has provided high-quality entrepreneurship education programmes to young people aged eight to 30 living in Malta and Gozo. The Foundation's principal aim is to nurture economic development by improving young people's understanding of business, employability and entrepreneurship.

As a member of JA Worldwide, a global network of non-profit organisations working to equip young people with entrepreneurship skills, Jaye Malta was invited to the network's much-anticipated annual event.

The Foundation's chairman, Christopher Vassallo Cesareo and Board member Jean Paul Attard attended this year's JA Europe Annual General Assembly, where they were delighted to receive the JA Europe Model Organisation Award 2021. This award, accepted on behalf of the Foundation's hard-working team, has now been awarded to Jaye Malta for four consecutive years. To qualify for the award, a Foundation must have achieved 80% of its pre-set KPIs. Jaye Malta achieved 93% of these KPIs throughout 2021.

Vassallo Cesareo and Attard were also thrilled to bring home the FERD's trophy. FERD'S List is an initiative that identifies seven young people from across the globe each year whose potential is being transformed into greater value to society. For this accolade, Johan H. Andresen, chairman of family-run investment company FERD, considers JA alumni who are "creating value and leaving lasting footprints".

Jaye Malta Alumnus Timothy Crockford was honoured in this year's FERD's List. Crockford participated in the Jaye Malta Company Programme in 2000 as a managing director and was awarded first place along with his team. An experienced investment manager, he is now head of the Regnan Global Equities Impact Solutions Fund in the UK.

Prizes were not only won in Brussels, however. The Foundation recently held its Social Innovation Challenge 2021, which was open to secondary school students from state, independent and church schools in Malta. The project, which took place in November, encouraged students from different schools to come together and propose innovative solutions to social challenges.

This year's winning team, from St Dorothy's School in Zebbug, were hosted by EY Malta, an organisation that empowers people to become transformative leaders. The students were toured around the EY premises, along with their teachers Roberta Micallef, Gwen Fava and headmistress Caroline Anastasi. The group was then presented with their unique prizes; specially designed hand-crafted lamps created from recycled wood by architect Ruben Formosa. This event was held in collaboration with EY Malta, HSBC Malta and The Malta Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

"We are very proud of the young people involved in our recent Social Innovation Challenge," shares Vassallo Cesareo. "It is also fantastic that Jaye Malta has been recognised on the global stage. Our team is so dedicated, and to bring home the JA Europe Model Organisation Award for the fourth year running is testament to that."

For more information about Jaye Malta and its projects and initiatives, visit www.Jayemalta.org