A golden opportunity to represent the DofE has been scooped by 16 outstanding DofE participants.
Sixteen DofE Award holders are set to inspire young people round the country to get involved in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as part of a new DofE Ambassadors programme.
The Ambassadors are charged with acting as a critical friend to the Charity and ensuring that DofE programmes are relevant and attractive to young people. Twelve of them will also represent the UK at an international conference in Mauritius next week.
This new initiative is a first for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Ambassadors have made a three year commitment and are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
The young people have been hand picked from across the UK and were chosen because they stood out with their inspirational experiences of doing their DofE. The DofE Ambassadors have been busy already.
They kick started their involvement with a recent training residential in Derbyshire and have spoken at both the Liberal Democrat and Labour party conferences about the realities of community involvement for young people.
Twelve of the Ambassadors will represent the UK at the International Gold Event in October in the idyllic location of Mauritius. They will meet other Gold Award Holders from around the world. The conference will look at three main themes Networking, Making a Difference and Telling a Story.
They will bring everything they learn back to the UK to support activities here. The DofE Ambassadors range in age from 18 to 28 and are all Gold Award holders and will receive support from DofE staff and have already made a difference by increasing the numbers of young people responding to an evaluation of the DofE questionnaire by utilising social networking sites.
Sahir Hamid, DofE Ambassador in Scotland said: “I’m really happy to be appointed as a DofE Ambassador. Doing my DofE had an amazing impact on my own life and I am looking forward to giving something back.”
Sarah Lindsell, Director of UK Services said: “The DofE has always had young people central to the charity. Having DofE Young Ambassadors ensures that we continue this. They are an amazing group of young people - as all Award holders are - and we look forward to working with them to inspire, guide and support other young people in their self-development and in recognising their achievements”