National Youth Award in New York honors more than 40 outstanding Dominicans abroad

New York.- Once again became, for an afternoon, a showcase of Dominican pride. Not the easy beauty or automatic applause, but the kind built through grit, study, discipline, and leadership in a city that gives nothing away. There, at the fourth edition of the National Youth Award, more than 40 young Dominicans living in the United States were recognized in the category Outstanding Dominican Youth Abroad, in a ceremony organized by the Ministry of Youth of the Dominican Republic, together with the Dominican Consulate General in New York and the Institute of Dominicans Abroad (INDEX).

The hall witnessed a clear message. The diaspora is not only remittances or nostalgia. It is also intelligence, innovation, and character. The list of honorees brought together students and professionals from different fields, from university students to doctors, distinguished for their contributions to the Dominican community abroad, their academic excellence, and their commitment to human development; at a time when many young people feel the future is a closed door, the event bet on the opposite. To show real stories that open the way.

Amid applause and emotional faces, key figures of Dominican representation in the city gathered. Present were the Dominican consul in New York, Jesús Vásquez Martínez, the main architect of this award within the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan to strengthen the diaspora–NY consulate bond; the Minister of Youth, Carlos J. Valdez Matos; and the ambassador and vice minister of INDEX, Celinés Toribio, accompanied by community leaders and representatives of public and private institutions from both countries.

The stage, more than procedural, became a symbol. The Dominican Republic looking straight at its young people outside the territory, recognizing that their success is also the nation’s and that strengthening the bond between them and the country is preventing a rupture that no authority had anticipated, even though it was so evident.

Consul Jesús Vásquez was direct in his message. He described the honorees as the generational replacement that guarantees the Dominican future, and he spoke to them with the tone of someone who knows New York does not forgive improvisation. He acknowledged their effort, discipline, and preparation in one of the most competitive cities in the world. In his words, they were presented as role models, living proof that one can succeed without disconnecting from one’s roots and while holding the country’s name high.

He then elevated the message to something broader than an award ceremony. He recalled that Dominican presence abroad is synonymous with creativity and perseverance. He said Dominicans are art, culture, sport, science, innovation, and resilience. And he closed with an idea that lingered in the room like an unfurled flag. Wherever there is a Dominican, there is a story of struggle and success. From the Consulate, he said, they will continue supporting initiatives that strengthen the bond with the diaspora and multiply opportunities for new generations, with a concrete promise. To keep accompanying them, to open doors, to be allies in their growth.

The Minister of Youth, Carlos J. Valdez Matos, framed the award in the realm of public policy. He presented it as a strategy to recognize, encourage, and project young people who positively impact both inside and outside the country. His emphasis was the power of these stories. He said they embody the spirit of overcoming that defines Dominican youth and that they are narratives that inspire and transform. It was not an isolated gesture, but an institutional affirmation that merit exists and deserves support.

Celinés Toribio, from INDEX, underscored another sensitive point. Identity. For her, the value of these initiatives lies in reinforcing the emotional and cultural bond with the country of origin, sustaining belonging and turning it into real commitment. In times when migration can push toward disconnection, recognition works as a bridge; not to romanticize uprooting, but to dignify it, and to remind that Dominican identity is not lost by distance.

But perhaps the figure that best summarizes what is happening came through the statistics presented by Eridenia Lora, general coordinator of the Award in the United States. Participation is not only growing. It is surging. In 2023, 57 young people applied. In 2024, there were 87. In 2025, it rose to 111. And in 2026, the number reached 272 young people, with 68 percent corresponding to Dominicans residing in the United States, an increase of more than 100 percent compared to previous years.

That curve is not a coincidence. It is a symptom of something deeper. There is a generation that wants to be seen, evaluated, and recognized for its real contribution. There are Dominican young people building a future in laboratories, universities, hospitals, companies, community organizations, and innovation spaces, without renouncing their identity. And there are institutions that, at least through this channel, are understanding that national pride is not decreed. It is cultivated.

The fourth edition of the award in New York closed with a powerful image. The Dominican diaspora, so often mentioned as a statistic or a slogan, turned into face, name, and trajectory. More than 40 young people raising, through their work, an idea that transcends the ceremony. That the Dominican Republic is also projected from abroad. And that the future, when recognized in time, can become the present.

In that closing, there was also an institutional footprint that goes beyond a night of recognitions. History will not forget the effort of Consul Jesús Vásquez Martínez, Chú, who bet that the diaspora–country bond would not weaken over the years. His drive, marked by the creation of the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, sought to turn that connection into a concrete roadmap, with a vision of continuity and with the diaspora as the protagonist.

The fourth edition of the award in New York closed with a powerful image. The Dominican diaspora, so often mentioned as a statistic or a slogan, turned into face, name, and trajectory. More than 40 young people raising, through their work, an idea that transcends the ceremony.

That the Dominican Republic is also projected from abroad. And that the future, when recognized in time, can become the present. and this, history will not forget the effort of Consul Jesús Vasquez Martínez (Chú), who left his mark in the effort to ensure the diaspora–country bond is not lost, with his innovative idea of creating the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan.