Sep 12 - Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme – Presentation Of Certificates
By Ellie Foxwell
Over 80 students have been aiding the local community by taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DofE).
The award in Gibraltar was established in 1971 and now 85 Gibraltar students have been presented with their certificate for taking part in either the Bronze, Silver or Gold award – each one progressively harder than the last.
Recipients received their awards from His Excellency the Governor Lt Gen Edward Davis in the gardens at the Convent at a ceremony held on Thursday last week.
After handing out the certificates, His Excellency said: "It truly is a privilege to witness the achievements that have been accomplished by the recipients in front of me.
"I think it's a great statement of the nobility, the ambition of Gibraltar's youth to strive to make a better place, and can I just say well done to all of you."
Bronze award recipient, Alejandro Marin Dominguez, said: “I’ve never done anything like this before so it was really interesting for me to do.
“I was in a group with five other people on an expedition in Tarifa which lasted three days. It was quite hard as one of the days when we were walking we got lost and another it poured with rain all day but it was an interesting experience and a good thing to put on my CV.”
The DofE is specifically designed for young students willing to push their limits, discovering new skills and experiences and giving something back to their community.
Silver award recipient Manar Ben Tahayekt has proven that anyone can take part in the scheme, no matter what they feel may hold them back.
She said: “I have a physical disability but that hasn’t stopped me at all. I had to train hard for a whole year before taking part in the expedition which was harder for me than it is for everyone else.
“I found it really hard at first but then it was okay and it was quite easy really. I felt really, really pleased when I finished – I’m really happy with myself.”
She added: “I find it hard to do a lot of things because of my disability so if I can do it, then so can you.”
The DofE is currently enjoying a substantial growth in the number of participants and Gibraltar is among over 140 countries that now take part in the scheme with 300,000 young people embarking on the adventure, directly contributing to their community.
Zian Fabre, who picked up her Gold Award said: “I had already taken part in Silver and I knew I wanted to carry on with gold. I had to take part in a ‘Skill, Sport and Service’ before my expedition and I chose to give Sociology and dance lessons and then for my service I was part of a ‘Big Sister’ mentoring scheme at school.
“After this I got to go on a week long expedition in France with four other people. We had to carry around a part of a tent, food, clothes, spare shoes, a towel, toiletries and lots more so it was incredibly heavy.”
She added: “I didn’t think I could take such heavy things and stick it out but I’m quite proud of myself that I managed to complete it all. There was a lot of tears but I got there in the end.”
She added: “I would really encourage anyone who’s thinking about doing it to just go for it as you never know what’s going to happen and it’s really fun at the end of the day, it’s hard but it’s fun!”
On the day, Chairman of the Open Award Centre in Gibraltar, Paul Lyon, was given the conditional licence by Governor Davis.
Ellie Foxwell is a journalism student who has just completed a work experience placement at YGTV.
{fcomment}
