DofE: Inspiring the Youth and Changing Lives
This article was written by one of our Young Reporters, a scheme that gives 14 to 18-year-old school students a chance to write for a real newspaper. Find out more at the Young Reporter website.
Despite the sorrowful passing of HRH Prince Philip on 9th April 2021, former prince consort and Duke of Edinburgh, the country can find solace in his ever-lasting legacy, which remains burning like an undistinguishable flame through his campaigns promoting the development of young people.
Established first in February 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh Award was initially a programme only available to boys, with four sections to complete.
The popularity of the scheme was apparent from the start, with 7,000 participants and 1,000 award recipients within only a year.
This popularity has continued to flourish, with the award now being run in 130+ countries and territories, and by 2024, the scheme has enabled the development of more than 1 million young people.
The DofE award, in its essence, is an opportunity provided to the youth of today to develop their skills, in an effort to prepare them for adulthood.
Participants must complete four sections: Skills, Physical, Volunteering and an Expedition.
Skills can involve a wide variety of options, from coding all the way to puppetry, with the physical section also offering a range of possibilities, whether you play football, or practice archery.
Whilst the benefits of enhancing one’s technical and soft skills, and physicality can be obvious, the purpose of the volunteering and expedition sections transcend tangible results.
Nikhil Kumar Karnam, currently doing his Bronze DofE, was eager to express his enjoyment of the scheme,
DofE has developed my skills, resilience, and self-belief.
“It has helped me improve my teamwork and has broadened the horizons of young people.
“The scheme has led me to discover new talents and interests, while also allowing me to make a difference in my community.”
The volunteering section involves the dedication of one’s time and effort into an organisation (non-profit) in an attempt to contribute to the wider community, with this idea of volunteering to help other people being a quintessential British value.
Meanwhile, the expedition involves days of preparation and development of integral life skills such as map-reading, cooking, and compass usage, after which participants, in a group, walk for hours on end, with rucksacks ¼ their body weight, perhaps go through mountainous terrain, rivers and hills, and reach a campsite where they must immediately get their shelter ready, and begin their route planning for the next day.
Arguably, the most important feature of the expedition, is however, not the life-skills or physical strengthening, but the ability to work cohesively in a team, being prepared to carry the extra burden of your injured team member’s bag, being able to delegate tasks amongst the group; this is especially relevant in modern society, which is becoming increasingly individualistic and polarised.
Young people can do bronze, silver, or gold award schemes, with the intensity and duration of the sections increasing as the level increases, with gold recipients being awarded their Gold award at a royal palace at a celebration event, attended by a member of the royal family.
Whether you complete the bronze, silver or gold award schemes, a culmination of abilities, as well as growth in self-confidence is guaranteed.
What began as a vision has now flourished into a reality, with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh living on in every young person he has helped develop into culturally, physically, and socially thorough individuals.
