Teens finalists in World Summit Youth Award for epilepsy support

SUMMERLAND – A group of young activists are finalists for the World Summit Youth Award for their work in epilepsy awareness.

The Epilepsy Awareness Squad, created by high school students Caitie Shaw and Dan Nixon in June 2013, was among 1896 applicants from 138 UN countries for the award.

The group uses its website and social media platforms to connect people who are affected by epilepsy and to educate people on what the disease is, challenges of having epilepsy and profiles of people, like Shaw, who are living with the disease.

The team started out around town, putting on garage sales to raise money, and setting up an information booth at farmers’ markets. The squad grew from there, and soon became official with t-shirts, a name and an online presence.

"You see kids in the hospital and they are having a million seizures a day. They have it way worse than you so you kind of want to do something,” Shaw said in an interview with Info News in September 2013.

The next step in the competition is the Winners’ Ceremony and World Summit Youth Award Congress in Brazil. The squad’s website “has a chance to be selected to the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals through online creations,” according to a media release issued by award organizers.

The winners’ ceremony will be hosted in Brazil November 28 – December 1. 

A jury of international experts, including board chairman Prof. Peter A. Bruck, will select 18 winners and 12 runners-up for the 2014 awards.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.