The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – Dominica recently completed a summer youth exchange with their counterparts, the St. Lucia Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The event took place from July 11 to July 23. A delegation of 24 persons, including National Director Mrs. Kerry Ann Remie-Timothy, three fellow Youth Development Division Officers, Lillia Durand, Sean Stedman and Lean Robin), who have been working with Award groups in Roseau, Grand Fond, Kalinago Territory and Petite Soufriere. They were accompanied by three seasoned Award Leaders Crispin Jules, Brandon Remie and Cuthbert Viville along with participants from the previously listed community Award groups. The contingent camped at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School, alongside 25 local Award participants from different high schools in St.Lucia.

The campers received training in outdoor survival skills, map and compass use and first aid, in preparation for their 3-day, 2 night qualifying expedition, hiking from Castries to Moshe and Borgis via local trails. As part of their daily camp routine participants were additionally engaged in morning fitness activities to test their hiking readiness. While the focus of the exchange was for the participants to fulfill their requirements for the Bronze and Silver Level Awards, they also got to enjoy the island’s two days of Carnival and conducted a community service project in Choc, cleaning up at the beach.

This year’s Summer exchange was organized because since 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, the Caribbean Award Sub-Regional Council (CASC) has temporarily halted their usual summer event, which would bring together hundreds of youth from the English speaking Caribbean and sometimes even the UK, Canada and Belize. The St. Lucia trip allowed participants, who have been actively involved with the program from 2019 to remain on track to complete the different Awards levels within the required time frame.

Founded in 1958 by the late Duke of Edinburgh, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Award is a non-formal, education and learning framework built on the tenets of service, self-development, adventure and challenge. The programme is designed to target young people between the age of 14-25, regardless of location, education, race, religion, physical mobility or financial resources. The Award can support and thrive in a multitude of different environments, as it is formatted to fit the needs of each individual participant. Since its launch over 65 years ago, millions of young people have participated and received awards, with millions more benefitting from its impact in communities around the world.

The Award is divided into three levels – Bronze, starting at age 14, Silver and the Gold which must be completed before reaching age 25. The four main sections are skills, service, physical recreation and the adventurous journey / expedition with an additional section the residential project at the Gold level only. The focus of the service section is giving back to the community and offers an opportunity to engage in making a difference within one’s community. The skills section allows a participant to explore, discover and pursue any undertaking that will contribute to personal growth and development, based on their particular interests. The physical recreation section requires participants to spend their own time engaging in some form of physical activity, which does not need to be in a team or competitive environment, while the adventurous journey or expedition involves several days of hiking, camping and exploration that increases in duration at each subsequent level.

The Award has been present in Dominica since 1966, and has enjoyed a reputable history throughout its existence, although it has periodically suffered through periods of dormancy. Since 2008 the Youth Development Division has been one of the Award’s primary partners but the program is also undertaken by members of the Dominica Cadets, Scouts and Girl Guides Association, along with independent community groups. In 2021 the local Award received funding under the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation: Special Projects – Three Funds Grant, to support its “DofE R.I.S.E. (Reaping Independence for Schools and Clubs Everywhere)” initiative. This funding was aimed to assist with revitalizing the program and has so far accomplished the establishment of three new Chapters (Roseau,Grand Fond and Petite Soufriere), reviving the Kalinago Territory group, securing the purchase of expedition and training equipment, supporting several local practice expeditions and now one regional exchange and expedition.

The National Executive’s next objective is to partner with local high schools through the Ministry of Education to deliver the program as one of their offerings to students. A Demonstration Day is carded for November aimed at providing the public with a showcase of what the Award teaches. Additionally, a Pinning Ceremony for the persons who have completed the various levels of the Award Programme will be held in December.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – Dominica recently completed a summer youth exchange with their counterparts, the St. Lucia Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The event took place from July 11 to July 23. A delegation of 24 persons, including National Director Mrs. Kerry Ann Remie-Timothy, three fellow Youth Development Division Officers, Lillia Durand, Sean Stedman and Lean Robin), who have been working with Award groups in Roseau, Grand Fond, Kalinago Territory and Petite Soufriere. They were accompanied by three seasoned Award Leaders Crispin Jules, Brandon Remie and Cuthbert Viville along with participants from the previously listed community Award groups. The contingent camped at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School, alongside 25 local Award participants from different high schools in St.Lucia.

The campers received training in outdoor survival skills, map and compass use and first aid, in preparation for their 3-day, 2 night qualifying expedition, hiking from Castries to Moshe and Borgis via local trails. As part of their daily camp routine participants were additionally engaged in morning fitness activities to test their hiking readiness. While the focus of the exchange was for the participants to fulfill their requirements for the Bronze and Silver Level Awards, they also got to enjoy the island’s two days of Carnival and conducted a community service project in Choc, cleaning up at the beach.

This year’s Summer exchange was organized because since 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, the Caribbean Award Sub-Regional Council (CASC) has temporarily halted their usual summer event, which would bring together hundreds of youth from the English speaking Caribbean and sometimes even the UK, Canada and Belize. The St. Lucia trip allowed participants, who have been actively involved with the program from 2019 to remain on track to complete the different Awards levels within the required time frame.

Founded in 1958 by the late Duke of Edinburgh, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Award is a non-formal, education and learning framework built on the tenets of service, self-development, adventure and challenge. The programme is designed to target young people between the age of 14-25, regardless of location, education, race, religion, physical mobility or financial resources. The Award can support and thrive in a multitude of different environments, as it is formatted to fit the needs of each individual participant. Since its launch over 65 years ago, millions of young people have participated and received awards, with millions more benefitting from its impact in communities around the world.

The Award is divided into three levels – Bronze, starting at age 14, Silver and the Gold which must be completed before reaching age 25. The four main sections are skills, service, physical recreation and the adventurous journey / expedition with an additional section the residential project at the Gold level only. The focus of the service section is giving back to the community and offers an opportunity to engage in making a difference within one’s community. The skills section allows a participant to explore, discover and pursue any undertaking that will contribute to personal growth and development, based on their particular interests. The physical recreation section requires participants to spend their own time engaging in some form of physical activity, which does not need to be in a team or competitive environment, while the adventurous journey or expedition involves several days of hiking, camping and exploration that increases in duration at each subsequent level.

The Award has been present in Dominica since 1966, and has enjoyed a reputable history throughout its existence, although it has periodically suffered through periods of dormancy. Since 2008 the Youth Development Division has been one of the Award’s primary partners but the program is also undertaken by members of the Dominica Cadets, Scouts and Girl Guides Association, along with independent community groups. In 2021 the local Award received funding under the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation: Special Projects – Three Funds Grant, to support its “DofE R.I.S.E. (Reaping Independence for Schools and Clubs Everywhere)” initiative. This funding was aimed to assist with revitalizing the program and has so far accomplished the establishment of three new Chapters (Roseau,Grand Fond and Petite Soufriere), reviving the Kalinago Territory group, securing the purchase of expedition and training equipment, supporting several local practice expeditions and now one regional exchange and expedition.

The National Executive’s next objective is to partner with local high schools through the Ministry of Education to deliver the program as one of their offerings to students. A Demonstration Day is carded for November aimed at providing the public with a showcase of what the Award teaches. Additionally, a Pinning Ceremony for the persons who have completed the various levels of the Award Programme will be held in December.

Persons who are interested in learning more about the Award can contact us via whatsapp at 1767 6165573 Email at [email protected] or through our facebook page Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – Dominica