This summer, our friends at the Fédération du Scoutisme-Français organised Roverway, a gathering of 5000 young Europeans, focused on European citizenship, commitment and living together. This event was aligned with the aim of Scouting and Guiding: educating active and committed citizens, who have a positive impact on their communities and on the world. This short film explores…
I’ve been asked by a number of people if I could share the words of the address that HRH The Earl of Wessex gave at last week’s diamond anniversary celebration of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Westminster Abbey. I can do better than that. Here is a recording of the speech itself.
This morning, I was privileged to join more than 2,000 people at an extraordinary service of thanksgiving, held at a Westminster Abbey, to celebrate 60 years of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. We were joined by HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex. In…
I learned a new word recently: “Waithood”; the bewildering time in which increasingly large numbers of young people are spending their best years waiting. They’ve completed school, but haven’t been able to find a job; they feel like they should have moved out of their parents’ house, but they’re still stuck in their childhood bedrooms;…
I know that I can sometimes (no, often) bore for Britain when talking about the differences between formal, non-formal and informal education. Pixar have just released a beautiful short film that portrays perfectly what I understand informal education to be. Required viewing, I think. Lasting just six minutes, the feature tells the tale…
Dear organisers of Cheltenham’s Half Marathon, Hundreds of us acted in good faith, followed your race briefing, but were unable to run this morning because the traffic confounded our attempts to reach the event at Cheltenham Racecourse, with its “ample free parking”. My story is probably typical of those of many other frustrated, disappointed and…
“There is more in you than you think” Over the last 60 years the Award has inspired millions of young people to transform their lives. In 2014 more than 1.1 million young people around the world took part in the Award, in 141 countries and territories, equipping them with skills for life. To celebrate this…
I wrote this article for the May issue of World Student Magazine Have you ever pushed yourself to your absolute limit? So far outside your comfort zone that you wondered if you’d ever be the same again? If you have, you’ll know how scary, exhilarating, rewarding, and, quite frankly, mind-blowing it can be. Exactly…
Today, the UK Scout Association held its annual Day of Celebration and Achievement. The event dates back nearly 80 years and recognises the outstanding achievements of both adults and young people through a parade and service held annually within Windsor Castle by gift of Her Majesty the Queen. In the morning, Queen’s Scouts form…
Recently, I listened to four young people tell their Award stories at a lunch held in Johannesberg, to celebrate 60 years of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. As soon as I heard them speak, I agreed to hand over my blog to each of them in turn, so that they could reach a wider…
