Governor tells award recipients ‘do not set limits’ at Duke of Edinburgh event

Young people who completed different stages of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award were presented with their awards at ceremony in The Convent last week.

The awards were presented by the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, in The Convent gardens in the presence of families and other guests.

Over the past six to 24 months, the 59 young award recipients have been involved in a wide variety of activities geared towards completing the requirements of the award.

For over sixty years, millions of young people have participated in the scheme, with millions more benefiting from its impact on communities around the world.

Through non-formal education, the award can play a critical role in a young person’s personal development and is achievable by any young person who wants to accept the challenge.

Addressing guests, the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, thanked the volunteers who run the award scheme and everyone else who offered support, including parents, schools and the Government, “because none of this could happen without the organisation”.

“This is such a fantastically worthwhile scheme,” Sir Ben said.

Photos by Johnny Bugeja

The Governor praised the award recipients for their resilience and their spirit in completing the process.

And he left them with this message.

“There are no limits to what you can achieve other than what you feel are capable of,” he said.

“So don't set yourself any limits.”

“Be ready to embrace challenge, even if it might be difficult or uncomfortable, and you will be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.”

Dale Cruz, the chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Gibraltar, spoke of the significance of the award.

“This award isn't just a piece of paper,” he said.

“It's proof that you chose to do something extra.”

“You challenged yourselves, you learnt new things and you gave back to your community.”

“The beauty of this award is that you didn't just walk the same path, you made your own, whether you were volunteering, picking up a new skill, getting active or surviving a camping trip.”
“Yes, blisters, rain and everything else, you showed real grit, teamwork and commitment.”

“You pushed through and that's what makes this award so special.”

“The certificate you're getting tells future employers, universities and anyone you meet that you're someone who steps up, that doesn't quit, even when things get tough.”

Mr Cruz thanked sponsors and volunteers for their commitment to the scheme.

“You're the ones who kept these young people going even when things got tricky,” he said.

“You're the unsung heroes behind the scenes.”

The award gives young people aged 14 to 24 the opportunity to experience challenges and adventures, acquire new skills and make new friends.

Young people who do the award become more confident and resilient, and develop skills in areas such as communication, problem solving and leadership.

This in turn impacts on their communities, who see improvements in areas including employability, health and well-being, and educational attainment.

The award comprises four sections.

The Voluntary Service section is intended to develop a sense of community and social responsibility.

The Adventurous Journey aims to cultivate a spirit of adventure and discovery and an understanding of the environment.

The Skills section develops cultural, vocational, and practical skills and the Physical Recreation section encourages improved performance and fitness.

The Gold Award has an additional section, the Gold Residential Project, which sees participants undertake some form of purposeful enterprise whilst living away from home for a week.

This year’s Gold Award recipients have participated in an arts retreat, undertaken voluntary work rebuilding a school in Ghana and undertaken an outdoor adventure course in Portugal.

To complete the Voluntary Service requirements the young people have, amongst other things, been assisting with animal welfare, helping at various charities, first aid activities with St John Ambulance, sports coaching and officiating, conservation and environmental work with The Nautilus Trust, assisting at the Cancer Relief Centre, as well as other activities.

For their skills they have learnt about art and design, cookery, debating, drama, journalism, knitting, learning other languages, singing and playing musical instruments, photography, and other pastimes.

All have completed a physically challenging expedition as part of the Adventurous Journey requirements and this has seen them hike a minimum of either, 24 km (Jimena de la Frontera/Sierra de Grazalema), 48 km (Sierra de Gredos) or 80km (Cevennes, France) depending on which Award they are receiving.

The recipients have also been heavily involved in sports. For Physical Recreation there has been involvement in athletics, badminton, ballet, basketball, boxing, cricket, dance, football, hockey, horse riding, martial arts, netball, rock climbing, rowing, rugby, squash, swimming, tennis, volleyball, weight training and yoga.

Alexander Sanchez-Soiza received his gold award at the ceremony, one of three youngsters to complete the final stage of the scheme this year.

“This means a lot to me,” he said.

“I'm feeling excited, overjoyed and a sense of accomplishment because it's been a good four years, from bronze to silver to gold.”

“I've had good companions all along the way and I think it gives you a good set of skills for life.”

He said above all the process had taught him teamwork skills and how to engage with people from different backgrounds, alongside practical outdoor skills.

Mr Sanchez-Soiza, who is now studying marine biology at university, said combining the gold award with his A-Levels had been “a bit tough but worth it”.

“I wouldn't change it,” he said.

“I'd do it all over again.”

Adrienne Durante was one of the silver award recipients and was thrilled with the experience.

“It feels amazing to receive my silver award today,” Miss Durante said.

“I struggled with the bronze but I was like, you know what? I'm going to give silver a go.”

“And I did and it's just an amazing experience.”

Miss Durante said parts of the process were tough, including the first day of their hike, on which her group got “completely lost” and had to camp “in the middle of nowhere” in a thunderstorm.

While combining studies with the demands of the award scheme can prove challenging, Miss Durante said leaders at the scheme planned events around their school timetables, meaning “it wasn’t so difficult”.

Asked for three things she had taken from the process, she was unhesitant and confident in her response.

“Resilience, friendship and teamwork,” she said.

Gema Martinez Corrales, who has interned with the Chronicle, received her bronze award during Thursday’s ceremony and described the process.

“It was definitely challenging, especially the expedition part, because I basically have no experience of hiking,” she said.

“But it did show me a lot of skills and also different areas, the community and the sport, so it makes you very well-rounded and very strong in all of these areas.”

“You definitely learn how to work as a team.”

“And also it's really good to have in your CV when you apply for uni and things like that.”

The varied activities require the support of a small team of dedicated, volunteer award leaders who make all the arrangements and take the participants on their adventurous journeys.

In addition, there are numerous volunteers who give their time to teach, supervise and assess the young people in their chosen activities.

“To all of them the Award's Board of Trustees owes a debt of gratitude and thanks them for their untiring efforts and support,” the award team said.

If you are interested in becoming involved, be it as a participant, leader, supervisor, or wish to contribute financially or otherwise, please contact the National Director, Michael Pizzarello, on 20051971 or, email michael.pizzarello@thedukes.gi, or visit our website www.thedukes.gi

BRONZE

Lihi Akad
Mia Bewerungen
Louis Borda
Oscar Chaudhary
Adelaia Corr Agnew
Joshua Cross
Theo Dowie
Lily Down
Jude Everard
Krsna Gulraj
Kayla Lily Guzman
Majus Hodges
Jamie Holliday
Arjun Jani
Maxwell Knight
Filip Kovacevic
Siddharth Lakhiani
Fei Yen Liu
Ethan Martin
Gema Martinez Corrales
Daisy Moir
Grace Oxley
Charlotte Peat
Emma Personeni
Urban Quach
Gabriella Risso
Roy Shapira

SILVER

Kobie Allen
Phoebe Banda
Jesus Bernal
Liam Caruana
Ryan Caruana
Samuel Chapman
Jerome Chellaram Hathiramani
Eve Cruz
Lauren Davies
Amelia Debenham
Aditya Dhanwani
Adrianne Durante
Imogen Escott
Lilly Estella
Ella Garcia
Harry Hignett
Mark Imossi
Alex Latin
Alice Leroy
Tyler Mauro
Evan Moya
Megan Mumford
Marco O’Connor
Daniel Olivero
Lily Rogers
Laura Ruiz
Alana Sacarello
David Valarino
Sarah Wilkie

GOLD

Akash Manghnani
Alexander Sanchez-Soiza
Charlotte Scott