Some twenty young Romanians on Wednesday received Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards from Princess Margareta at a ceremony at the Elizabeth Palace in Bucharest.
Excited and nervous graduates were joined by their parents for the one-hour event where some of them gave testimony about their experience. The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme was set up in Romania in 2013 and thousands have taken part in it since then.
Spring light
Soft spring afternoon light shone through the windows and the palace was fragrant with the aroma of hundreds of fresh roses and other flowers arranged in vases in every room, possibly in honour of the princess’ 75th birthday the day before.
Romania abolished the monarchy in 1947 after the communists came to power, forcing King Michael to abdicate and go into exile. In recent years, however, the government has called on Princess Margareta, Michael’s eldest daughter, together with her husband, Prince Radu, to play an active role for the country in foreign diplomacy. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is close the royal family’s heart as Michael was a cousin of the late Prince Philip.
Joining the ceremony on Wednesday were Dr. Rebecca Shah, the deputy head of mission at the British embassy, and Shajjad Rizvi MBE, chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award foundation who spoke at the ceremony in the historical palace, which is also the residence of Margareta, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, and Prince Radu.
Non-formal education
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, which started in 1956, is a global framework for non-formal education and learning, which challenges young people to dream big, celebrate their achievements and make a difference in their world.
“We learned to respond to fear and learned to help someone overcome fear,” said Dr. Shah reliving her own experience in a field of cows where one team member was afraid of cows. “We inspired courage when it wasn’t felt,” she said.
Later she learned to “laugh at mud and blisters,” and also that „time, patience and compassion with people is precious and costs you nothing” as well as a deep appreciation of hard work.
Screaming in the woods
The scheme is meant to toughen up youngsters and push their limits. Dr. Shah said her brother, who graduated the elite gold awards, “ran away from wolves in the Pyrenees.” A graduate on Wednesday recalled screaming in the woods that she’d had enough, before being coaxed into facing the challenge.
In Romania the youngsters “commit to volunteering one hour a week, and have to learn a new skill, like a musical instrument or a new language,” Mr. Rizi said.
They also take part in a sporting activity, such as weight lifting or swimming and their progress is monitored by a mentor or leader, he added.
DoE awards
There are currently about 1,000 youngsters doing the bronze and silver DoE awards in Romania and the program is available all over Romania, in private and public schools.
“We have it in Harghita, some of the poorest areas of Romania, in Iasi, in Roman, Piatra Neamt, Oradea, Sighisoara, Constanta, Craiova,” he said.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was launched in the United Kingdom just one decade after the end of World War II by Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh at the instigation of Kurt Hahn, the educational pioneer and founding headmaster of Gordonstoun School.
It is a balanced programme of activities available to all young people between the ages of 14-24 that develops the whole person in an environment of social interaction and team work.
Self-reliance
Its mission is to encourage personal discovery, self-reliance and responsibility in an environment of social interaction and team work has remained unchanged since it began almost 70 years ago.
The graduates of the programme obtained an internationally recognized certificate, which is suitable for resumes, but also for study abroad.
There are an estimated 1.3 million young people in the world who are completing the DofE programme.
