Clockwise from top left, Princess Margaret Secondary student Jasmeet Kaur Dhaliwal, Queen Elizabeth Secondary student Harnoor Kaur Panfair, and L.A. Matheson Secondary students Gurjaap Singh Deol, Jasleen Kaur Uppal and Harman Singh Atwal were recipients of this year's Dhahan Youth Awards.
Five students from L.A. Matheson, Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth secondary schools are among eight winners of the 2024 Dhahan Youth Awards, recognized for their vivid storytelling abilities in Punjabi and English.
Presented by the 10th annual Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature ceremonies on Nov. 14, the yearly youth writing contest showcases the literary talents of Grade 11 and 12 students, and serves as a way for Punjabi youth to embrace their rich cultural heritage through creative writing in the Punjabi language.
"These youth awards were created to give students learning Punjabi an opportunity to showcase their creative writing skills outside of the classroom," said L.A. Matheson Punjabi teacher Gurpreet Bains, who also serves as the school's languages department head. "Now, when our youth sit in the same room with authors from all over the world and are celebrated, it encourages them to be lifelong learners."
This year's winners from Surrey Schools are:
- A Promise by Harman Singh Atwal, L.A. Matheson Secondary
- Shattered Borders by Jasleen Kaur Uppal, L.A. Matheson Secondary
- Falling Spirits by Gurjaap Singh Deol, L.A. Matheson Secondary
- My Life, My Destiny by Jasmeet Kaur Dhaliwal, Princess Margaret Secondary
- The Star Disappeared in the Rising Age by Harnoor Kaur Panfair, Queen Elizabeth Secondary
Other recipients include Gurdeep Kaur Bilin of Khalsa Secondary School in Surrey and Jasmeet Kaur Dhaliwal and Sahij Kaur Baath of Dasmesh Punjabi School in Abbotsford.
The awards also recognized L.A. Matheson Indigenous student Soja Raven Layla Vasanji, who was selected as a poetry contributor with her work My Heart Skips a Beat, as well as two other Indigenous youth who submitted poems. In recent years, the Dhahan Prize has included submissions from Indigenous youth to elevate their voices and recognize the shared, traditional, unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo and other Coast Salish Peoples.
The Dhahan Youth Awards were founded in 2017, in partnership with L.A. Matheson and the Coast Capital Foundation, and has featured numerous Surrey Schools students over the years. (See past winners from 2023, 2022 and 2021.) This year's winners were also recognized by Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke.
The winners received framed certificates, prize money and the publication of their work in Lofty Heights, and anthology of the winning submissions and poetry from this year's Dhahan Youth Awards. Lofty Heights is published in the Punjabi scripts of Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi, as well as in English and French.
The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature is currently accepting submissions for the 2025 Dhahan Youth Award and Dhahan Indigenous Youth Award. Deadline for both is May 31, 2025. For more information, visit dhahanprize.com
Congratulations to all of our Dhahan Youth Award recipients and contributors!
