The Young Active Citizen Award is given to a special young person or group of volunteers who are making a difference in the district.

The finalists are Zahra Ahmed, Ravenscliffe Young Ambassadors and Lapage Primary School’s Community Heritage Volunteers.

Zahra Ahmed, a 10-year-old pupil at Byron Primary School in Barkerend, has been nominated for her ‘Connections’ project.

Her nominator said: “Zahra has created a project that tackles racism and stereotyping. Zahra had a vision for everyone to be ‘kind to one another’ and started planning what she was going to do to make the world a better place.

“Zahra has also delivered a speech to the whole school educating them about equality and respect.

“Zahra has organised and helped plan a workshop with REN (Race Equality Network). She has also delivered a 10 minute speech to the rest of her school about kindness, fairness and equality.

“Zahra worked beautifully with her friends, sharing passion and enthusiasm to reduce stereotypes and racism in her community.”

Zahra said: “I feel super honoured to be nominated. I want to inspire other youngsters to follow their dreams and make the world a better place. If I do win I will live up to that achievement.”

Ravenscliffe Young Ambassadors started during the pandemic to deliver food parcels and activity packs to those in need.

The group developed into an opportunity to run activities for young people, including arts and crafts, sports, cooking sessions and much more.

The group helped run the ‘Moving Up’ Summer Transition Programme for young people moving up to secondary school.

It focused on hopes and fears, healthy relationships, anti-bullying and resilience.

The nominator said: “The group are always supportive and encourage young people, they provide ongoing support for the young people and listen to what they say and help them deal with issues they are facing.”

Lapage Primary School’s Community Heritage Volunteers have been nominated for their work with Bradford Cathedral.

The volunteers worked with adults and children to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the Cathedral and lead intercultural visits.

The nominator said the children had “presented the Cathedral as both a sacred space and common ground.”

A spokesperson at Lapage Primary School said: “The Bradford Cathedral Community Heritage Project is a wonderful thing for our children to be a part of.

“The pride of the children in having an active role in their community is a joy to watch, not to mention the increased confidence in public speaking and a greater awareness of their Bradford heritage.

“Bradford Cathedral makes a point of being a Cathedral for all, no matter your background, faith or spiritual beliefs.

“The children really enjoyed learning about the similarities and differences between faiths.

“The all encompassing nature of the project meant that even those children in Year five, who did not become volunteers, were still able to contribute with some amazing artwork which was displayed in the Cathedral.”

Finalists for Bradford's Community Star Awards revealed

For 2022’s Community Stars Awards, there are nine categories in total.

Click the category to find out more about each finalist

Want Bradford’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox each morning? Sign up to our newsletter to get our daily bulletin.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Have you got a story for us? Email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk or contact us here or call us on 01274 705292.