VICTORIA – The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold Certificates were presented by His Royal Highness The Duke of York to 100 youth, including a large number of South Asians, from across British Columbia at Government House in Victoria on May 18th. These certificates are awarded in recognition of the youth completing the requirements for the Gold Award Level. To earn this Award, the Achievers must complete five sections of the Award program: volunteer service, a skill, physical recreation, an adventurous journey, and a residential project. The Award is presented to the Achiever in the form of a lapel pin and a certificate.
The South Asian recipients inlclude Alyshia Damji, Sabrina Damji, Aleem Dhanji, Ziyaan Hirji, Zahra Jamohamed, Jamil Javer, Imraan Juma, Sarah Kandar, Shamil Kokar, Imran Moosa, Faiyaz Moosa, Antalya Popatia, Alina Salemohamed, Natasha Teja, Sarah Ahluwalia, Kavya Shah, Safeer Jivraj, Sheida Naderi-Azad, Aman Malhotra, Negin Alavi, Shane Jagdis. The Achievers represent 43 different groups plus 22 Independents.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an international youth award for participants between the ages of 14-25. It is a fully inclusive program, without academic requirements for participation. Currently, there are 7 million participants in 141 countries; with approximately 5,000 participants in the British Columbia & Yukon Division. More than 37,000 Canadian youth are currently participating in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program, either as independents or members of organized groups such as Guides, Cadets, Scouts, Community Centres, Churches, Friendship Centres, or Schools.
