Who has made a positive difference to the lives of others?

Do you know a young person aged 11 to 26 years who has made a positive difference to the lives of others?

Nominations for the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards 2012, in association with The Co-operative Foundation, are now open at www.youngscotawards.co.uk, and you only have until the Friday 26th February to share your inspirational stories, which truly reflect Scotland's outstanding young people.

Thousands of young people across Scotland regularly contribute to their communities through a variety of ways. The Young Scot Awards are all about celebrating their amazing achievements and challenging some of the negative perceptions of young people, we too often hear about.

Has a young person you know been involved in improving their local community? Have they made a positive contribution by giving up their free time? Nominations are accepted from groups as well as individuals, so maybe you know of a youth group or project whose achievements deserve to be heard about on a national level?

There are 13 different categories in which you can nominate:

·         Sport (sponsored by sportscotland)

·         Volunteering (sponsored by SCVO)

·         The Arts

·         Community (sponsored by The Scottish Government)

·         Truth About Youth (sponsored by The Co-operative Foundation)

·         Heritage (sponsored by Historic Scotland)

·         Health

·         Unsung Hero (sponsored by SOLACE)

·         Enterprise (sponsored by Scottish Gas)

·         Entertainment

·         Diversity and Citizenship (sponsored by Young Scot)

·         Environment (sponsored by Scottish Gas)

·         Sunday Mail Readers Award (sponsored by Sunday Mail)

Three finalists in each of the 13 categories will be invited to the glittering awards ceremony in Glasgow's Hilton Hotel on 26th April 2011, where they will mix with celebrities, politicians and other guests.

Winners from last year included:

· Our Environment winner Megan MacDonald ran a crofting campaign to show her island community how to adapt to new ways of making a living and to help persevere a Scottish way of life in her local community of South Uist. Megan also went on to win the overall Young Scot 2011 Award for her vital work.

· Jamie O'Rourke, from Grangemouth, won the Heritage Award. He spent two years developing history tour Ghostly Guides in Falkirk town centre, working with 10 to 16-year-olds.

· Ryan McLaughlin won the Health Award. The 15-year-old started the Shine on Scotland campaign to highlight the links between multiple sclerosis and vitamin D deficiency.

· The Unsung Hero award was won by Rachel Henderson. A young carer for her mum, who has severe arthritis, Rachel was herself diagnosed with the painful condition and supports others by volunteering for the confidence-building Shine project for young people.

· The Diversity and Citizenship Award was given to Voice Against Violence, a group of 16 to 22- year-olds who raise awareness of domestic abuse to try and to support other young people by sharing their own personal experiences.

Nominate NOW by logging on to www.youngscotawards.co.uk

We'd like to thank all our supporters and sponsors of the Awards, including The Co-operative Foundation, Historic Scotland, the Scottish Government, sportscotland, Scottish Gas, SOLACE and SCVO.

We'd also like to thank all the people and organisations working to improve the lives of Scotland's young people, especially the Dialogue Youth Local Authority Network, whose work and support helps make the Awards possible.

Don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest news and gossip on Twitter by following the hashtag  #ysawards or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/youngscotawards.