MaltaMedia.com

Dr Alan Deidun has won the sixth edition of JCI Malta’s The Outstanding Young Person of the Year Award (TOYP).

This award, presented by Junior Chamber International Malta (JCI Malta), recognises those individuals between the ages of eighteen and forty who excel in their chosen field and exemplify the best attributes of Malta’s young people. This Award gives credit to people who managed to make their, as well as other people’s lives better through their exceptional skills.

This year, JCI Malta received an outstanding number of quality nominations in the various TOYP award categories. Category winners were announced during The Outstanding Young Person Awards Ceremony 2009 held at the Radisson Blu Point Resort, St. Julians on Sunday 25 October 2009.

Maria Zahra, JCI Malta National President 2009 said that through this award “We are recognizing these young people who represent the spirit of entrepreneurship and citizenship that make a difference in our community. These individuals recognise needs and find innovative ways to meet them. Their courage, can-do attitude and spirit of excellence are a testament to the power of commitment and determination, and above all, those who dare to find solutions deserve special recognition because of their capacity to inspire others.”

Dr Alan Deidun was voted the overall winner from the eight category finalists and declared as The Outstanding Young Person for 2009.

Dr. Deidun is a rare breed indeed, especially if one considers his academic and scientific background. Alan holds a doctorate in Biology and has published over 25 peer-reviewed scientific papers and numerous popular articles and book chapters.

Alan is forthright in upholding his Christian values, including his objection to the introduction of divorce and the legalization of abortion. Throughout his European Parliament elections campaign, he also made some innovative proposals, including that of making public all financial contributions to political parties. He came up with the idea of initiating a Green Movement within the Nationalist Party.

During the Awards Night, the winners of the various categories were also honoured:

. Category: Business, Economic, and/or entrepreneurial accomplishment – Mr David Serge: David co-set up The Bigger Picture, a local production company geared to produce high-end commercials and short films. To date, he has directed and shot over 50 commercials for the local and foreign markets.

. Category Political, legal, and/or governmental affairs - Dr. Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas: Roberta, a young female political, wife and mother of two, and at the age of 25, Roberta contested for the 2004 and 2009 MEP elections in a bid to become Malta’s first female MEP. The 2009 result was very close to being elected and tailed some 21,000 votes.

. Category Moral and/or Environmental Leadership – Alan Deidun

. Category Cultural Achievement – Anne Marie Camilleri Podesta: Anne Marie travelled overseas to study the harp at the tender age of twelve during her summer holidays. Anne Marie’s natural talent and love for music together with her pleasant personality and positive outlook to life have enabled her to reach outstanding achievements in the area of music and her professional career as a Medical Doctor specializing in Anaesthesia and intensive care.

. Category Contribution to children, world peace, and/or human rights - Georgianne Baldacchino: Georgianne graduated in Psychology she started working with Eden Foundation, with STYLE, Eden’s programme for children suffering from autism. Georgianne is also involved in voluntary work on an ongoing basis; she has been travelling to Palermo, Sicily and Calcutta, India and helped to improve the lives of disadvantaged people

. Category Humanitarian, and/or voluntary leadership – Jennifer Busuttil and Josef Borg: Jennifer is a dedicated religion teacher. Being a teacher gives her the chance to spend the summer holidays doing voluntary missionary works in third-world countries visiting Algeria, Egypt, India and Kenya to name a few. She works mostly with the children and orphans of a wide variety of cultures and religion.Josef joined the St John Rescue Corps. some nine years ago at the tender age of 17 years. Throughout the years, he has done all that was required of him to perform within the ranks, with the same determination and motivation as if it was the first time. In the last three years, he was given the responsibility of the running and maintaining the basic structural requirements of Fort Madliena.

. Category Personal improvement, and/or accomplishment – Rene Rossignaud: Rene, a professional photographer, was inspired to demonstrate the cruelness of war and has been to the Gaza strip to capture pictures of devastation, and of homeless orphans. He has planned his trips Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and, again Gaza. He is presently finalising with his publishers, the proposal for a book incorporating his best shots.

. Category Medical Innovation – Dr Marcel Gatt: Marcel is a Specialist Registrar in General Surgery in the UK. Through his research and practical work, Marcel achieved development in the field of medical treatment for colorectal diseases. Marcel has highlighted the importance of the Gut in treating patients who are critically ill. Through his ground-breaking research in this field, Marcel has improved the quality of life of numerous patients under his care and that of other further afield.

These award winners will be nominated as Malta’s entries for the international JCI competition for The Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World. Winners of this international award will be honoured next year during the JCI World Congress to be held in Osaka, Japan.

The TOYP Award was held in collaboration with HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., KPMG Malta, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, Jos. Vincenti and Nexos Lighting Technology and What Matters Coop.