National Projects funded by the Award through The Global Youth Mobilization
Earlier this year, Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) invited national organisations to apply for project funding designed to support young people in the recovery from Covid-19.
There was an overwhelming interest from organisations within all ‘Big 6’ members, including The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.
We are very pleased to announce the 13 projects within our Award family who have been selected to receive GYM National Projects funding.
The projects are in many different parts of the world and are wide-ranging in their focus – but all have the same goal; equipping young people with the skills, resources and knowledge to make change in their local communities and develop innovative solutions for the impact of COVID-19.
Congratulations to everyone who received funding. We look forward to following their progress.
You can read more about the projects below.
Engaging the Underrepresented Young People in the Fight Against COVID-19: The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Cameroon
This project supports less privileged groups of young people who have been greatly affected by Covid-19. Young people living on the streets, those in Internally Displaced Persons’ Centres, prisons and correctional centres across Cameroon will be invited to attend workshops to learn skills, including sewing, barbering/hairdressing and the manufacturing of hand sanitizers and soaps – and carry out awareness campaigns on personal hygiene.
Since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, there is little or no concern for the less privilege group of young people in Cameroon. Little consideration has been given to those including street children, internally displaced children, refugees and prison inmates, who are greatly exposed to the virus due to the fact that they are unable to obtain face mask, soap, hand sanitiser and even water. This has contributed to the spread of the pandemic in many communities.
This National Project aims to involve this group of young people in the fight against COVID-19 to improve the public heath situation in Cameroon and also to help to reduce the negative stigma that exists around such group in much of the general population.
Among the activities to be carried out, these target groups are being trained in sewing, knitting, barbing/hairdressing, and the manufacturing of hand sanitisers and soaps. There are also educative talks on personal hygiene, personal development, leadership and entrepreneurship; and other activities like games, dancing and singing.
Additional value is added to the programme’s participants work as their activities will go towards helping their gain their Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award certificate.
The Czechp-Slovakian DofE Online Academy: Czechia and Slovakia (joint project)
The Award in Czech Republic and Slovakia have joined together to support young people who, due to long periods of school closures during the pandemic, are not easily able to access non-formal education. They will utilise interactive online workshops to engage young people who may currently be experiencing lack of motivation, interest, or living with mental health challenges.
This project is run with the support of World Scouts and YMCA.
You can find out more here: dofe.cz/en/ and dofe.sk/en/
The Bridge Project: The Head of State Award Scheme – Ghana (HOSA)
The Bridge Project will work with young offenders, young people currently living on the streets and those living with physical and mental health challenges by helping to develop relevant skills and increase independence, using the Award framework as a ‘bridge’.
The Bridge project invites young people to explore their roots, environment and how they can grow together with others. This project is run with the support of World Scouts and YMCA.
You can find out more here.
YOUTH WE 3ERVE: The Hong Award for Young People
In collaboration with the World Scouts and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts this year-long programme will include mental health training and the providing of services to 300 young people in the community.
The Programme:
This National Project will focus on alleviating the negative impact on mental health of young people from COVID-19.
The Hong Kong Mental Health Conference 2020 found that the pandemic has resulted in increased anxiety and stress among young people in Hong Kong. In order to help alleviate these symptoms The Hong Kong Award for Young People is working with The Scout Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association on a twelve-month long ‘Youth Mental Health Ambassador Programme’.
A total of 21 participants take part in the programme, from each of the three organisations (seven from each organisation). The programme consists of three phases with over 1300 hours of community services and activities included. Participants first receive mental health training in how to talk and support people, and then go out into their communities to provide services to 300 other local young people.
The aim of the project is for the Youth Mental Health Ambassador twofold. Firstly to help their fellow young people to process any negative emotions that may have arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, and secondly to transfer the own negative emotions into positive action by serving others and sharing their stories.
Watch more about YOUTH WE 3ERVE below:
You can find out more here.
Empowering the Visually Impaired to be World Ready: The International Award for Young People, India
This project will empower visually impaired young people to be World Ready by building new skills, confidence and resilience through undertaking the Award. This will open up the opportunity to engage in non-formal education and skills development outside the classroom to young people who ordinarily don’t have access to this.
Find out more here.
Youth-led Covid-19 Recovery Project: The International Award for Young People Israel
Young Award Leaders from all over Israel will meet up for a 3-day leadership seminar, to work together on the creation of projects that will meet the specific COVID-19 challenges in their communities. With the facilitation of IYA staff, the Young Award Leaders will develop these projects and take them back to their communities to implement and deliver them.
Find out more here.
Covid-19 Response and Recovery Project: The President’s Award – Kenya
This response and recovery project will address at-risk young people who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. They will receive relevant skills-based training and work with business experts to build knowledge and management expertise that young people can use in the world of employment or when setting up their own business. PA-K are hopeful that this programme can continue long after the initial funded-project.
Find out more here.
Masterclass of Happiness: The International Award for Young People – The Netherlands
The Masterclass of Happiness
The Award, The Red Cross and The Scouts in The Netherlands, have been coordinating on a project with a difference, called The Masterclass of Happiness.
The classes focus on teaching young people how to cultivate happiness for themselves after some of the challenges thrown up by the past two years of the pandemic. Working with facilitators, including well known national comedians, such as Japser van der Veen, the workshops try to help young people cope with the stress produced by the global pandemic, through using humour to cultivate their resilience and adaptability.
The personal benefits that come through helping others are well documented, and the workshops also discuss volunteering in the community as a way for young people to help themselves as well as others around them.
The project also aims to inspire participants to continue to develop the life skills they practice in the sessions and to work on their own capacity and resilience by signing up for their Award.
The workshops engage young people from across the three youth organisations, as well as other young participants from outside of these and provide opportunities to alleviate the negative impact of the pandemic on young people though the delivery of non-formal education and learning activities.
This project is also supported by World Scouts and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Find out more here.
Extending the Reach of the Award to Youth in Prison: The Duke of Edinburgh Award Nepal
Extending the reach of the Award in prison
The National Project in Nepal combines Early Childhood Development with incarcerated young people.
The project provides young people in prison an opportunity to partake in non-formal education and learning activities and receive recognition for their achievements through the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Nepal, and aims to extend its reach through the National Projects funding awarded by The Global Youth Mobilization Project.
The Award in Nepal are currently working with the Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) and have already established a successful relationship with this organisation through another project that provides young people in residential care access to the Award. Ms. Pushpa Basnet, Founder of ECDC, is currently running non-formal education programmes in seven prisons across Nepal.
In it’s first year a pilot project established a prison where there is a need for the Award and the infrastructure to support it. In 2022 the project will expand to one more prison. By the end of the project a minimum of two prisons will be involved in in the delivery of the Award, and ultimately if successful, the model will be expanded to other prisons and additional funders identified to support the project on an ongoing basis.
Find out more here.
Nigeria COVID-19 Recovery Project: The International Award for Young People Nigeria
This COVID-19 recovery project will seek to provide access to non-formal education to less privileged young people from public secondary schools in Northern Nigeria who cannot afford the cost of participating in the Award. Informal training with be provided, such as IT skills and financial management. There will also be support to the local community through voluntary service and the promotion and carrying out of activities that encourage regular and proper hygiene practices.
Find out more here.
Boost Camps: MEPI – Program Mednarodno priznanje za mlade – Slovenia
Boost Camps are designed for young students to awaken their goal-oriented and creative minds, and focus on showing the importance of giving back to society and maintaining good physical and mental health.
The project is run in conjunction with World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and World Scouts.
Find out more here.
Safe Spaces Project: The President’s Award Trinidad and Tobago
‘Safe Spaces Project’ aims to open up welcoming, supporting safe spaces for young people, re-envisioned for the remote environment. Gold participants and Award Leaders will be trained as Peer Helpers to serve listen, support, educate and empower their peers to cope with the stresses posed by Covid-19.
This project is run with the support of World Scouts and Girl Guides.
Watch a video about their project below:
Uthabiti (Resilience): Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Uganda
Young people will be equipped with the knowledge and skill sets to enact behavioural change; to effectively contribute towards the fight against COVID19 and minimize its impact among the young people and their communities.
Peer educators will be trained in community mobilization skills, knowledge about the pandemic, and trained in health practices recommended by the World Health Organisation. They’ll share this knowledge through weekly peer education sessions, across the course of 12 months. This project is run with the support of World Scouts.
