The Tribune

THREE Bahamians were among participants from around the world who gathered recently in Prague for a global leadership programme designed for the next generation of key decision makers and influencers within The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DoE) International Award - a programme active in The Bahamas and more than 140 countries and territories.

The Governor General’s Youth Award (GGYA) dispatched three of its emerging leaders to the Czech Republic’s International Gold Event (IGE).

The trio, Jacquette Maycock, Clifton Francis and Arvis Mortimer, found the experience enriching.

The three gold award holders were provided with training and experience in leadership and were given an opportunity to consider issues faced by young people in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and contrast that with issues in their own country.

Mr Francis was placed in a small, multinational group that made up the “laboratory” for the experiential learning about leadership which formed the core of the IGE experience.

His group visited a children’s home to investigate why participants started but didn’t complete their DoE Award and created a plan to help turn things around.

“Being a former resident of a children’s home in The Bahamas, I was able to connect to the children there,” said Mr Francis who assumed a leadership role in the group, narrating its PowerPoint presentation. His group’s closing presentation also featured a resident of the children’s home who left his residence at 3am to travel to Prague.

“We were the only group that the prince [the earl of Wessex] commented on. They were pleased to see we did our homework and left no stone unturned,” said Mr Francis.

His fellow Bahamian, Ms Maycock, a member of GGYA’s management council, attended a meeting of the International Council, the governing body of the international award.

“It’s about coming together to decide the best way forward in remaining the programme of choice for young people around the world,” she said.

“We examined how the award proceeds from here. What’s the way forward? The things discussed will come into effect in another year or two, once final decisions are made on how to best proceed.”

“[The] International Gold Event provides us all with an excellent opportunity to plan for growth in our various countries, to ensure that we reach as diverse a range of participants as possible, to help young people effect real impact for themselves and their communities - and to set up the peer networks that we will need to make all this happen,” said John May, secretary general of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.

The International Gold Event culminates with the election of eight new emerging leader representatives.

In 2014, in South Korea, Arvis Mortimer was chosen in the presence of Prince Edward. This time around, IGE covered the cost of her attendance.

“In Prague, at IGE 2017, my term ended with the election of new representatives for the Americas region but my passion for the GGYA continues,” said Ms Mortimer.

“This is the programme that every single young person in The Bahamas should have access to, especially those who are marginalised and socioeconomically disadvantaged in any way. The award allows young people to challenge themselves in ways they may have never done and the result is a more resilient, confident, socially minded person who can work well with a diverse range of people.”

GGYA is open to those aged 14 to 24.