Statement made on 08 June 2011 by Senator Joseph Day
Hon. Joseph A. Day:
Honourable senators, last week I had the honour of attending the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award ceremony at Halifax's historic Pier 21. There were 44 deserving young Canadians receiving a gold award from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston. It was the culmination of countless hours of hard work and commitment for these young men and women, and an experience that will contribute greatly to their growth and future success.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award program was founded in 1956 by His Royal Highness Prince Philip and was meant to inspire youth and enrich their lives through leisure-time activity by setting a series of goals that encourage personal discovery, growth, self-reliance, perseverance and responsibility. It is a program that is not based on membership or competition, but rather on inclusion and voluntary participation. These principles formed the basis of the award.
Since that time, the award program has spread internationally, and today there are 132 participating countries in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Network, with 850,000 participants worldwide. Since its inception, the award program has granted over 3 million awards to youth from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances.
Given the success of the award, it is little surprise that the program has a strong foothold in Canada and has been operating here since 1963. With a presence in every Canadian province and territory, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award currently has 37,000 participants in Canada and is projected to grow in the near future to 40,000. In an effort to make it accessible to all Canadian youth, the award has developed a number of initiatives to reach out to "at-risk" youth, those with disabilities, young offenders, inner city youth, Aboriginal youth and those in remote areas, ensuring its relevance today as it was 50 years ago.
Available to all Canadian youth ages 14 to 25, the award is broken down into three levels: bronze, silver and gold. Each of these levels requires accomplishments in the four sections of the program, namely, service, expeditions, skills and fitness.
While there is a minimum age requirement for each level, these awards are granted based on how much time has been committed to each of these four sections by the youth. For example, to obtain the gold award, not only must an individual fulfill the requirements in all four sections, they must also work on a fifth section with their peers, a residential project, for a period of five consecutive days and four nights. Some of the youth have participated in archaeological digs, cadet camps and tall ships training expeditions.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award has for decades inspired youth to take on challenges that will enrich their lives. Whether or not they achieve an award, the program helps immensely in encouraging young Canadians to develop well-rounded, active lifestyles. I encourage all honourable senators to look into this program and consider helping to develop an award program in your region. It is an excellent program for the youth of our country of all backgrounds.