I’ve been lucky enough to meet some very, very successful people over the last few years; not just business people, but adventurers, philanthropists and sporting heroes as well. I’ve always thought it was ridiculous to suggest that they all have the same traits in common and that success can somehow be distilled into an amalgamation of
Transforming the Award
This week, I made my inaugural address to The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Forum, our world conference, which is held every three years. What follows are my speaking notes – and some of the slides that I used as illustrations. We are the world’s leading youth achievement award, bringing together practical experiences
Social Media explained
Twitter: I’m doing my Silver #IntAward #DofE Adventurous Journey this weekend Facebook: I like doing the Award, and these friends like doing it too FourSquare: This is where we are camping Instagram: This is a vintage photograph of my tent YouTube: Here I am in my tent LinkedIn: I
Back to the future…
The last time I sat in the Great Hall at Bristol University’s Wills Building, I was sitting my Finals exams for my degree. Last night, I stood where the invigilator had stood – and spoke to a room full of Scout Leaders about the impact of Scouting, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and youth work
The Pink Hijab Girl
Humairah Jassat left school last year, lives in Gauteng, South Africa and is now studying journalism at Varsity college. She also happens to be one of the most inspiring young people I have ever met. She grew up in what she describes as a “nice, Muslim family”. She never lacked for anything, but began to realise,
The other side of Cape Town
It is a beautiful sunny afternoon in Cape Town. This morning I was able to visit the top of Table Mountain. The views from there, on a clear day like today, are amazing. The city stretches out beneath you to the bay. The sea shimmers. And Robben Island sits in the middle of the water,
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and Scouting – a perfect partnership…
If you are involved in Scouting, you may know of the team of Ugandan Scouts who decided to ride their bicycles from Kampala to Rinkaby in Sweden last summer, as their way of getting to the 22nd World Scout Jamboree. What you may not know is that the team undertook the challenge in order to
Kenya’s National Youth Service
There is much talk in the UK at the moment (and has been since the last election) about the creation of a National Citizenship Service for young people. Kenya got there first, nearly 50 years ago. Kenya’s National Youth Service was established on September 1st 1964, through an Act of Parliament. It was charged with
Kenyatta University President’s Award
I have driven past the gates of Kenyatta University on several occasions in the past few years, usually as I crawled along in a traffic jam on my way to Nyeri. Today, however, I got the opportunity to go through them to visit the campus and its students. I have to confess that, as
Kenya – The Award in Action
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is known as the President’s Award in Kenya, or the PA for short. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit two very different schools where the Award is being run. Both were girls schools; both were full of engaged and enthusiastic young women. But they were as different as
I have always found John to be a person of passion and inspiration in the area of maximising potential. He is friendly, a strong communicator yet has a steely determination for achieving what is right for the development of others.
John has a great grasp of the current challenges in education and articulates these well and persuasively...
John is an outstanding personality, full of energy, enthusiasm and wit, who sets extremely high standards and always delivers on his promises. His passion for lifelong learning and long experience of working with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds make him a skilled and sensitive coach and manager. John is a natural and visionary leader who inspires others and helps them achieve their full potential.
John is an exceptional person. I never stop being surprised with his energy, vitality and determination with which he carries his massive responsibility. I am honoured to be associated with the Award Program and it gives me a great satisfaction to be able to work with John as its leader.
Successful not-for-profit organizations run themselves in a businesslike way, planning strategically, and making themselves properly accountable for their actions and impact. John May is just the sort of person a good not-for-profit needs. I have worked with him for the last five years and greatly value his passion for helping young people succeed, his strategic and management skills and his ability to get disparate groups of people to work in partnership. John May makes things happen.
Having worked with John on various charitable causes I cannot speak highly enough of the work he does...
John has a fantastic sense of humour and was such a great person to work for! He is a great leader, communicator and networker and I learned a lot from him. His passion, enthusiasm and commitment to his work with young people is really inspiring and first rate. He is incredibly generous both with his experience and knowledge and always has time for people.
John is adept with people--able to understand issues quickly and apply his highly positive attitude towards solving them. His leadership style is collaborative and open but he is also very clear about what needs to happen and why. A creative and entrepreneurial person, he brings new and refreshing ideas to the table...
John is a great person to work with. He is inspiring, knows non-profit management and campaigning. John communicates well with all different kinds of people. He is a true connector and makes people smile a lot! He knows the difference between being serious and acting seriously!
John has been great at developing cross sectoral relationships between business, public and voluntary sectors. This understanding of balancing the needs and aspirations of all partners is one of the reason he has been so successful in developing campaigns and organisations.
John is great to work with. His sense of humour and engaging personality should not mask the fact that he is fundamantally a high achiever who has the confidence to tackle big challenges...
John is quite simply an inspiration. He has been responsible for improving the life chances of a vast number of young people who might otherwise have missed out on the chance to build a career for themselves. He is affable, committed and always positive and enthused about his role which makes working with him a very rewarding partnership.
John is committed to making a difference for young people and he lives this as well as talks this. Moreover, my experience is that an organisation he runs will be highly professional, hard-working, and demand the same quality from their customers and partners as they will provide themselves. I moved into teaching to provide opportunities for pupils they wouldn't have had otherwise. Because of John, it has not been a wasted move...
I have worked with John over a number of years on a variety of projects that require tact, diplomacy, cooperative working and just good old fashioned passion. John is engaging, positive and has a great desire to get things done. 
John is an adept strategic thinker, leader and people manager. His engaging and conscientious work ethic is exemplary.
John is an inspiring colleague and leader. In 1995, Scouting and Guiding together took more young people to an overseas event than ever before (World Scout Jamboree). Working with him for 2 years in the run-up was an exceptional experience for me - although Guiding sent fewer girls, I felt equally valued and included in all the planning. Balancing the needs of the young people and leaders was achieved with great finesse and the event was a huge success for all the UK particpants.
John is an exceptional and inspiring leader and a major authority on youth education and development in this country and around the world. In addition to his track record of transformational leadership in a number of significant organisations, John is well known and respected as a public speaker. 
Having been one of John's pupils some 25 years ago in primary school, I can say that to this day he has left a memorable impression that will be with me for ever. He is truly a fantastic role model for the next generation.
John May wears his obvious enthusiasm for Youth Development and Organisational Vision on his sleeve when he presents. Listening to John speak at The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Americas Regional AGM in The Bahamas not only brought clarity to how The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association was going to meet its Vision and Mission, but made the entire room excited to be a part of if all!
During the time in which I have worked with John I have found that, not only is he a hard working and enthusiastic individual, he is also someone who is easy to work with. He is quick to understand the issues involved and then to help formulate responses, sometimes with little or no notice. Although possessing a great sense of humour he does not shy away from being serious and to the point when the occasion demands. He appears to be a great team leader as well as being a team player
I first taught John a very long time ago, which of course therefore makes him very old. He was an argumentative young man, and still is. Focused, driven, able, principled - just we want in an organisation like the DofE.
John is a fabulous speaker who is able to adapt to meet the needs of the group with whom he is working. I have heard John speak in many situations and he never fails to impress and inspire both adults and young people. John is passionate about what he believes in, and as one of the young people whom he has supported I am forever grateful for his time in helping me learn new skills and develop personally.
John is a great organizer, who keeps focus; yet is open to new inputs and ideas. He is sensitive to different cultures and keeps everyone happy while the ball is rolling...