HRH THE EARL OF WESSEX AND FELLOW GOLD AWARD HOLDERS IN YOUTUBE FILM FOR IAA’S 21ST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

To celebrate its 21st Anniversary, The International Award Association has released a YouTube film featuring HRH The Earl of Wessex and two fellow Gold Award holders. Jassin Rezai, an Afghan refugee who completed the Award in Finland, Julia Wong, a Gold Award holder from Canada, and Prince Edward discuss the transformative work of the International Award in the film which is now available on YouTube via this link http://tiny.cc/IAA21anniversaryYouTube or  www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel and also via the Award’s YouTube Channel: Award1956 www.youtube.com/Award1956.

Shot at Buckingham Palace, the film shows Prince Edward in relaxed conversation with Jassin and Julia, discussing the ways in which the International Award, known locally in [insert country name] as [insert Award name], has spread around the world and how it addresses the key issues facing young people today. The short film briefly covers how the Programme develops all young people, including youth at risk – be they young offenders or those affected by conflict – and reiterates that the International Award is now one of the leading youth programmes internationally with a presence in 129 countries.

The film also provides a simple introduction for those unfamiliar with the International Award and was organised as one of a number of activities celebrating the 21st anniversary of The International Award Association (IAA) which was formed in 1988, following the successful worldwide expansion of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award UK programme (under the worldwide name of the International Award), to ensure that the Award is delivered consistently and to the highest quality across the globe.

The release of the film, at the time of the IAA’s 21st anniversary, is intended to summarise how far the IAA has come in its first 21 years. The culmination of the 21st anniversary events is the International Award Forum which is being held in Sydney on 28th October – 1st November and will be attended by HRH The Earl of Wessex, who is a trustee of the IAA. Young people are heavily involved in the Forum with 21 youth delegates taking on key strategic roles during the event such as the facilitating of seminars and writing an event blog

Speaking at the Forum, the theme of which is ‘Fit for the Future’, will be Sameer Vasta, a storyteller and communications strategist who specialises in online community engagement and emerging web technologies; Ingrid Beutler, an international lawyer and deputy head of the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace; and the well known lawyer, activist and former minister for young people in the UK, Paul Boateng.