Civic Awards

Civic Awards recognise our unsung community champions who have gone the extra mile for Harlow and its residents.

Community organisations and individual volunteers make a huge contribution to lives across Harlow from organising clubs in many ways, from running cultural and social events to helping elderly neighbours.

These awards are not just about recognising length of service to a community – we want to highlight fantastic contributions made by residents of all ages who have improved the lives of others, or gone that extra mile.

There are 3 award categories:

  • citizen of the year
  • young citizen of the year (up to the age of 18)
  • sports and culture award

Eligibility

You can nominate a resident, group or organisation who has contributed to Harlow for an award as long as the nominee meets any of the following criteria for that award.

  • achieved something particularly noteworthy for Harlow
  • improved the health and wellbeing of local residents
  • helped people improve their educational and vocational capability
  • done something which has made people feel safer or happier
  • made a physical improvement to Harlow’s environment
  • improved employment opportunities for residents
  • improved the reputation of Harlow

You cannot nominate a council officer under this scheme. If there's an officer you'd like to acknowledge, please contact us for details of their line manager.

Nominations close at 5pm on Friday 5 April 2024.

Selecting the winners

After the deadline, all the nominations are passed to the Civic Awards Judging Panel who will meet in April 2024 to draw up a shortlist of finalists and select the winner of each award category. 

All nominations are judged on how the individual or community group has made a difference to their community, helped people or inspired others.

The judging panel is made up of the Chair of the Council, the Vice-chair of the Council, 2 councillors and the Chief Executive or Director of Governance and Corporate Support.

The award winners will be invited to attend the Annual Council meeting in May 2024 at the Civic Centre, Harlow Essex CM20 1WG to receive their certificate.

You can find out about the 2023 winners in our Civic Awards 2023 news story.