Some of the people that attended the event on Wednesday evening.
Since the inception of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, there was an eagerness to expose the programme to more young people for them to have the opportunity to experience all that the programme offers. Through partnering with the Community Independence Celebrations Committee, the young Parish Ambassadors will get the opportunity to do so.
Speaking at the press launch of the twinning of the Parish Ambassadors and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Sir Trevor Carmichael, Chair of the Board of Trustees highlighted that he believed this would be the start of an exciting journey for the young Parish Ambassadors as they pursued their bronze award and encouraged them to push through towards the final award, gold.
“The Duke of Edinburgh awards will help young people like you to acquire new skills; skills that your future employers will also require, skills such as Resilience, Communication, Problem-Solving and Leadership,” he said.
“You’ll find that you’re not only learning but growing. Be sure to share everything about this award with all the persons you encounter in life.”
Carla Alleyne, Operations Manager of the Joint Programme Execution, explained that the programme for the Parish Ambassadors would be set out in four sections.
“For the Ambassadors, there are some sections that are easier than others. For the Service section, since you are already giving back to the community as ambassadors, that will count towards the Service section of the award programme,” she said.
As award participants, Alleyne explained that they were expected to provide evidence of a Skill and Improvement of that skill. Additionally, she noted that they were also expected to be involved in some kind of Physical Activity, either team-based or individual.
“But the real fun and excitement and challenge, and maybe a few tears, will come in the adventurous journey. This is the Hiking and Camping, the section of the programme that everyone knows pretty well,” she said.
“That will start in May, where they will do an introduction course. They will be taught some of the basic skills that they will need and then after that, they will do a two-day hike, starting August 24 and ending on August 26. This is when they will really get a taste of what happens in the programme.”