A University of Oxford graduate has received a prestigious award from the Jamaica Prime Minister, Andrew Holness.
Nahjae Nunes, a graduate from Christ Church college, received the Prime Minister's National Youth Award for Excellence during a ceremony held in Kingston, the Caribbean country's capital, on May 31. Mr Nunes was a winner in the most competitive award category – academics. His mother was present to accept the award from PM Holness on her son's behalf.
The National Youth Award for Excellence is the highest honour given to Jamaicans under 30 and Mr Nunes said: "Receiving this prestigious national recognition deeply reinforces how transformative my time at Christ Church has been.
"The support, mentorship, and rigorous intellectual environment I've experienced here have been integral to my scholarly growth and have undoubtedly played a crucial role in this achievement." Mr Nunes recently completed an MPhil in international relations and will soon begin a DPhil at the college.
His academic achievements include being named valedictorian of his undergraduate programme and ranking among the top graduates at New York University, where he earned an MS in Global Affairs. He is also an associate fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a rising leaders fellow at the Aspen Institute, and a scholar of All Souls College, Oxford.
Mr Nunes has contributed to policy discussions at international forums including the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat. He is also the first person from the Americas to be appointed as a senior fellow at UNICEF Innocenti, which conducts research to influence global change for children and young people.
Further, he also served as a social, cultural, and humanitarian policy advisor at the United Nations and been a part of several ministerial task forces within the Commonwealth. His MPhil research focused on the role of small states in global economic governance, with an emphasis on how Caribbean countries interact with international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund.
For his DPhil, he plans to examine structural inequalities in the international political economy, exploring how global governance systems impact the economic autonomy and justice of small and developing nations. Mr Nunes said his academic and policy work is driven by a commitment to addressing structural inequalities in the Global South.
As he was unable to travel overseas to receive his award, his mother represented him at the prizegiving ceremony at Jamaica House, the Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica. A spokesperson for Christ Church college said: "The Christ Church community would like to congratulate Nahjae on his great success, and to wish him well as he begins his doctoral research."