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778 Banshee Squadron

Royal Canadian Air Cadets

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Adopted from Wikipedia and http://www.dukeofed.org/

Introduction

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, also referred to as ‘The Award’ or ‘The Duke of Ed’, is a self-development programme available to young people ages 14 to 25. To date, over 500,000 young people from Canada, and over 7 million youth in 130 countries, have been motivated to undertake a variety of voluntary and challenging activities.

Purpose

The purpose of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is to encourage young people to set their own goals and challenges, work towards achieving them, and then be recognized at the end for sustaining the commitment they have made. There is no competition between participants. The only people with whom they compete are themselves. Self-motivation is fundamental to the Programme. There are no set standards to achieve. The criteria for gaining an Award is based on each participant’s individual improvement and potential at the starting point of the Award. There is no such thing as failure in the Award. Even if an Award is not attained, just being involved brings new friends, new knowledge and new adventures.

Overview

The Award programme has three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each requires an increasing level of commitment and effort.

  • Bronze: Open to those 14 years or older. The minimum period of participation to achieve this Award is 6 months.
  • Silver: Open to those 15 years or older. The minimum period of participation to achieve this Award is 12 months.
  • Gold: Open to those 16 years or older. The minimum period of participation to achieve this Award is 18 months.

The Award Programme is designed to encourage youth to set and achieve goals. It is a journey of self-development, self-training, and personal achievement, and is based upon individual effort and improvement. To achieve an Award, participants must set goals in all 4 programme areas (5 when achieving the Gold level):

  • Service: This section is intended to develop a sense of responsibility to yourself and to your community.
  • Adventurous Journey: Aims to cultivate a spirit of adventure, discovery and an understanding of the environment while undertaking a wilderness or adventure experience.
  • Skills: Encourages the development of personal interests and social or practical skills.
  • Physical Recreation: Encourages a sense of achievement and good health through regular physical activities.
  • The Residential Project (Gold only): Aims to broaden horizons, experiences and outlook through living and working with others.

Using Cadet Activities for Qualification

Many of the activities that the Squadron participates in will assist you in meeting the goals of the Duke of Ed program.

For information on how to use cadet Field Training Exercises to qualify for the Bronze Award hike see the guidelines below:

Additional Information

Visit http://www.dukeofed.org/