NRI Student Dhanya Vasanta Wins Australia’s 2026 Dame Marie Bashir Peace Prize

Los Angeles/ Oct 01, 2026
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh

NRI student Dhanya Vasanta has been awarded the 2026 Dame Marie Bashir Peace Prize in Australia, recognising her contributions to literacy, community service, youth engagement and promoting peace and social understanding. She received the award on September 28 at the New South Wales State Parliament in Sydney.

A Year 12 student at Northern Beaches Secondary College’s Manly campus, Dhanya founded “A Little Library” at the age of 12, initially donating 200 books to Westmead Children’s Hospital. The initiative has since collected more than 10,000 books, which have been distributed to regional and remote Australian communities and communities in Africa.

Her community service also includes around four years of volunteering at a music therapy clinic, where she supports children with physical disabilities and neurodivergence. She has also participated in youth advisory programs, established a Japanese club at school, mentored younger students and promoted cultural exchange between Australian and Japanese students.

The Dame Marie Bashir Peace Awards recognise secondary-school students for contributions connected with social justice, inclusion, social cohesion, peace and community service. The 2026 recognition adds to Dhanya’s growing record of youth leadership and volunteering in Australia.

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