Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Gibraltar: Presentation ceremony
This year 46 young people who have participated in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Gibraltar are eligible to be presented with their awards at a ceremony, at The Convent, on Wednesday 4th September 2024. His Excellency The Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst KCVO CBE, as Patron of the Award in Gibraltar, will present Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards at a ceremony which will be attended by families, Award leaders, activity coaches, assessors, sponsors, and many others.
The young people receiving their Awards have been involved over the last 6 to 24 months in a wide variety of activities geared towards completing the requirements of the Award.
For over sixty years, millions of young people have participated and received Awards, 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.
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 aims to help young people become #WorldReady via non-formal education.
The Award comprises four sections. The Voluntary Service section 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 undertaking 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 acting, art and design, cookery, drama, online gaming and cybersecurity, 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, basketball, cricket, golf, football, hockey, martial arts, netball, rowing, rugby, squash, volleyball, and weight training to name but a few.
All these 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 countless 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.
Naturally, without the participation of the young people there would be no Award Ceremony and therefore the Board, leaders, supporters, and families wish to congratulate the following on their achievements;
BRONZE
Jesus Cardenas Bernal
Liam Anthony Caruana
Matthew William Crisp
Grace Olivia Anne Dyson
Miles Robert Hamilton
Isabella Hill
Chloe Aitong Kou
Preston Enri Hernandez Noguera
Max Nuttall
Sam Redman
Sofia Elizabeth Hillman Rota
Isabel Hillman Rota
Ena Angharad Smitham
SILVER
Callum Alistar Baig
Cameron Byrne
Lucia Cardenas Bernal
Nathalie Marie Chipolina
Niamh Colton
Karizma Daswani
Gabriella Ghio
Danika Manoj Kumar Jhamnani
Sophie Louise King
Pablo Kussner
Marta Leiria
Alex Jay Macniven
Dev Mahbubani
Bonnie Andrea McHard
Ana Montero
Cristina Muñoz
Jack Byrne Muscat
Adrian Chumillas Ontiente
Naveena Manikanda Pandian
Kevagn Pereira
Ellis Forbes Pillans
Pablo Postigo
Emily Jacqueline Rees
Marta Rodriguez
Noah James Segui
Ohad Shay
Shanaya Sheriff
Sonia Konstancja Szetela
Harry Francis Warne
Finlay Heath Savignon Watson
GOLD
Carlos Elias Kussner
Sam Joseph Pitaluga
Monica Popham
Many of the recipients have already commenced their activities towards their Silver and Gold Awards and we wish them every success for the future.
The Award's Trustees would like to express their thanks to His Excellency The Governor, for allowing the Award to take over his home for the ceremony, and to his staff for working towards making the event a success.
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
