St David Awards: Nominations open for first Welsh honours 10 September 2013 Last updated at 19:50 The annual St David Awards will be presented next March Nominations for the first Welsh honours have opened following their official launch by the first minister. The annual St David Awards will recognise "inspirational people making a difference to our country" and will first be presented next March. Carwyn Jones announced the nine awards were being set up in February. Eight will be open to public nomination and one will be chosen by the first minister. How the UK and Welsh honours compare The UK honours system comprises different orders, which a person receiving an award becomes a member of. Only the Order of the British Empire awards and the Companion of Honour are open to everybody. The others are for civil servants, military personnel and diplomats. The public nominate recipients for UK and Welsh awards, but UK nominators cannot specify which award they want their nominee to receive, unlike the St David Awards. UK nominations are decided by an honours committee made up of senior civil servants and independent members. Their decisions are forwarded to the prime minister and then to the Queen. The UK honours ceremonies are carried out at Buckingham Palace twice a year by the Queen, where the nominees receive a medal. St David Award finalists find out if they have won in a ceremony at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in March. Winners receive a trophy and runners-up a certificate of nomination and recognition. The categories are bravery, citizenship, culture, enterprise, innovation and technology, international award, sport and young person's award. Real difference Mr Jones and his successors will choose the First Minister's Special St David Award for an exceptional individual or team. The Welsh government has said the awards will be given to people who are not simply doing their jobs but "making a real difference to the quality of life in Wales." The finalist and eventual winner of each category will be decided by a separate judging panel, each chaired by Lord Rowe-Beddoe, the chair of the Wales Millennium Centre and president of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The winners will receive a hand-forged award designed by sculptor Gideon Petersen. Mr Jones said the awards had been set up to ensure they recognised "the good work that is done in our communities by so many people." It is not intended to replace the current honours system but to run parallel with it. We know there are people out there who do so much good work in communities. They don't want recognition but it's nice to see their good work rewarded with a system like this. The first minister added that not many Welsh people received the higher awards in the British honours system. Nominations are open until Tuesday 5 November.