The Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award is an amazing opportunity for young people, one council official in Scotland has stated.
Speaking to the Evening Times, Chris Cunningham, Glasgow City Council’s spokesman for education, skills and early years, described the achievement award as an “amazing opportunity for our young people”.
He added that the award can be particularly beneficial for young people who are more vulnerable, adding that it helps all those who take part to “acquire life-changing skills that will benefit them in both their professional and personal development”.
Mr Cunningham made his comments as 447 young people received their DofE Awards at a celebration at the city’s Royal Concert Hall. In total, 757 DofE awards have been granted to young people through the city council in 2017, up 43 per cent on last year.
Part of the DofE Award involves going on an expedition – and there are some wonderful places to go for outdoor activities in the UK, including the Peak District, where you can undertake DofE expeditions for the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.
Last month, the DofE charity announced that it was setting up a new £3 million fund – called the #iwill fund – to help more young people in the UK access the scheme and benefit from all it has to offer.
The charity wants 70,000 young people across the UK to start the DofE each year by 2020, up from the 50,000 who currently start on the programme.
This new funding will not only help spread the word about the DofE Award, but will also enable more organisations to run the scheme by providing training for DofE leaders and will provide transport and equipment in some circumstances.
