EricA Smith joined the Duke of Edinburgh's Award as its executive director less than three months ago and has already set a personal mandate ¿ to increase participation by young men and women in the island's two senior schools and the co-ed facility. Her goal isn't as simple as one might think. For whatever reason, the scheme has been stigmatised as an activity for the island's elite. However, she feels her own passion, combined with the testimonies of those who have participated in the past, could see representation equal to that from the island's private schools.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award celebrated its 40th anniversary in Bermuda this year. The commemoration saw a new executive director named to the programme and a handful of students complete the Award at the Gold Level, the highest attainable.

"Many people have asked me what made me decide to move over from (my role as the director of Sustainable Development)," said Erica Smith (pictured) as she discussed her hopes for the expansion of the scheme with the Mid-Ocean News.

"You make choices in life. For me, directing this programme is a natural progression because if you're talking about sustainability for a country, you have to really start with its people.

"I would say the Award is a great youth development and life skills programme. I think it allows young people to be exposed to areas where they probably would never have thought of being exposed to and then also allows them to kind of develop themselves and really figure out that they actually have the wherewithal to accomplish anything they put their mind to."

The Award entails a programme of activities open to young people between the ages of 14 and 25. The scheme is divided into three levels ¿ bronze, silver and gold ¿ each of which demands participants work in their spare time to complete specific activities in the areas of community service, skills, physical recreation and an expedition.

A final activity, asked only of gold participants, involves a residential project where they work as members of a team for five days. Four hundred and thirty-four awards have been earned, at various levels, in the past three years alone.

This summer, a group of students completed an arduous 50-mile trek carrying 40-plus-pound rucksacks through the jungles of Trinidad for their Gold Level expedition ¿ Marcus Symonds and John Adcock of Warwick Academy, Sherrita Arorash and Teleza Pitcher of the Berkeley Institute, Brenda June Milett of the Bermuda College and Samantha Smith, a graduate of the Berkeley Institute and a Gold Level Award holder who went to train as a leader for Award groups.

"Gold is really supposed to be the pinnacle of the experience," stated Mrs. Smith. "It requires a 50-mile expedition and it's supposed to be (done) on unknown terrain that you really map yourself. It really can't be done in Bermuda (but) we have an affiliation with the Caribbean Award Scheme Council and also Outward Bound and our Gold level participants get to choose whether they want to go to the Caribbean or if they want to go with Outward Bound ¿ usually they go to Wales on their trip."

The expeditions rotate throughout the Caribbean with Trinidad being the island designated for the scheme this year. The students were placed in separate groups, encouraged to demonstrate teamwork and leadership in a body of approximately 300 participants from all over the Americas.

"I first learned about the Duke of Edinburgh's Award when I first started high school at the Berkeley Institute," said 17-year-old Teleza. "They introduced it to us in S1 as a co-curricular activity ¿ everybody has to do one each year. I decided to do (it) because I had heard about the programme and heard it was a good programme to have on your resumé."

Her older sister had participated at the Bronze level and warned her it would not be easy, she said.

"I heard about some of the past experiences my sister had and I thought it'd be a tough experience especially doing the expedition, walking across the island. But I would tell anyone considering it to pursue it. I'd tell them to try the programme because it's a really good experience and you learn a lot about yourself and other people and it helps you in the long run for your future success. I learned in life to keep pushing if I want something to keep going for it because eventually I get there."

Sherrita was in complete agreement with her schoolmate's assessment of the programme. She first heard of the programme through a family member and "decided to try it out", after teachers presented it to her as an extra-curricular activity.

"I already most of the requirements," the 17 year old said, referring to the list of required activities. "I play piano and I had a sport and I thought I may as well put it into something positive that I could use and show other people.

"I learned that I'm able to achieve more than I thought I could. Basically physically, I didn't think I was going to be able to do as well on the walk. But once you start, it's hard to stop. Physically and mentally I learned a lot about myself, that I could accomplish more than I thought."

Asked what she would say to potential participants, she added: "I would tell them it's not a race. You're basically on your own. You're not put with anybody or racing against anybody. You do everything on your own time. Sometimes it can be difficult, as far as the physical exercise when we were walking, but after you're finished you feel great. You feel accomplished and you're able to get your bronze or your silver or your gold."

It's a message Mrs. Smith is now in the process of trying to get across to the wider community, highlighting the achievements of the recent Gold level participants.

"Completing the Bronze takes a minimum of six months, the Silver is a year and the Gold is 18 months. (Sherrita and Teleza) did each level one after each other ¿ it probably took them four years to get to that third level. They went as a group of six Bermudians but when they got there they were actually broken up.

"So it's also about networking, developing relationships with other people and seeing how you can actually rely on those people as your team mates because clearly, they couldn't get their award if they did not accomplish it all together.

"Some of the things that they've had to endure and achieve both on their own and as part of a team are amazing ¿ there's probably not many adults that have done the same ¿ and I would say that the challenge is for other young Bermudians to get involved and really to experience it and see what they can overcome themselves and push themselves into.

"I know for myself and I know for the Award council they want to see the Duke of Edinburgh Award as being more than an elitist programme. They really want it to be a programme of choice for all young Bermudians and for all young Bermudians to benefit from involvement. In other countries the programme is in some of their youth correctional facilities as a way for them to progress and retrain themselves and so in that regard I've already had a meeting with the co-ed facility (and discussed) how to regenerate it, how to get our youth offenders involved from that perspective so that they can also contribute in Bermuda.

"From the public school system I think it's important for these young people and their parents to understand that it really isn't about privilege or for a select few. It's for everyone and everyone can benefit from participation in it. It's just trying to figure out how we can correct that (image) and hopefully with Sharrita and Teleza and others we can hopefully show young people that people that look just like them can actually do this, and have done this, many, many times before."

Mrs. Smith said she could only guess as to why there was a perception that the Award was geared to a certain portion of the population ¿ not only is it free, but it is offered in all schools.

"I think it's one of the best-kept secrets in Bermuda although, over the last ten years, we've probably given out over 1,300 awards so from that perspective it is known ¿ but I think it's only widely known in certain kinds of schools and organisations. The private schools know it quite well and utilise it quite well. Part of our challenge is to grow it within the public school system."

When pressed why that was so, the executive director said: "I think it's a couple of things. I think that the name is not attractive enough. It has some connotations associated with that. But I think once you get past the name you can really see the quality of the programme.

"My job is to try to make that well known within the public school system. If you're already doing some type of formal recreation, playing sports as part of a team, already doing some volunteer work or community work, probably the only other extra thing that you have to do is the skill component, which is something technical or something real detail oriented, and then the expedition.

"And to have that on your resumé, as I've been told, is quite a great thing and a great accomplishment. And the fact is you're part of an alumnae in over 120 countries, over 6 million young people between 14 and 25 have actually gained their Award. It's quite something to do so."

The rewards in participating are numerous, she declared.

"It teaches self-confidence, self-awareness, team work, bonding, networking skills, critical analysis and thinking. In order (for Gold participants) to do their expedition and trekking, they actually have to plan out their routes themselves. They have to do their meal planning. They have to cook ¿ everything that they do is them doing it. We have the Award leaders but they're only just providing a supervisory type of role."

Marcus said attempting the Gold level was a natural step once he'd completed the Bronze and Silver Awards.

"There's a lot of perseverance involved," he admitted. "It was hard, but you got through it. I think (people considering the Award) should do the Bronze and Silver first, to figure out if they can do it at the lower level. But the Gold is a good thing to do if you have the Bronze and Silver and you think you're ready for a bigger challenge."

As part of his requirements, the 16 year old took up capoeira, a popular sport from Brazil, played the clarinet with the Menuhin Youth Orchestra and is a peer mentor at Purvis Primary School.

Asked what he would say to encourage others of his age, he commented: "I'd say to get them involved early and stress the importance of going through to Gold. When I joined, you'd see people doing Bronze and Silver but only maybe two or three people doing Gold. It's something that really appeals to all types of people. If you're introverted it just gives you more self-confidence. It makes you more extraverted. It helps you out with your communication skills.

"Everybody in my group (was older). I actually held my own. I actually did more than I thought I could do. I thought they would do so much better because of the age. But I was actually on par with them."

To attain an award, every aspect of the programme must be completed by age 25, Mrs. Smith said.

"They're quite strict," she said. "The philosophy comes from a German philosopher and educator Kurt Hahn who really believed in this whole philosophy of mind, body and spirit - an holistic approach to development. It's not just based on education or formal tuition although that's very important, but if you want to develop the entire person you have to have a well-rounded experienced life.

"We know that adolescence hits at age 14 and that's when young people might stray. So the programme is there to hit you at those formative years, expose you to a wide range of things ¿ it's likely you probably will latch onto something that you like and follow that through for the rest of your life."

However, participants become involved at various stages in life, she stressed.

"We do have people that go straight into Gold. Our current chairman Kenneth Bartram only got his Gold when he was an adult ¿ I think in his early 20s after he came back from college. Some people choose to finish off it when they go away to college ¿ I have some e-mails from some students who are going to the United World College in China and they want to finish off over there.

"So we have these relationships with other international award groups in order for them to do that. But from my experience it's free. You get the opportunity to be involved in something that is bigger than yourself. You get the opportunity to experience things that I think, you probably never would have."

On average the Award attracts approximately 275 students each year, the executive director said.

"It's kind of difficult to know at any one time. Usually around the beginning of the school year (numbers are sent) from the different award groups but I would say on average we have about 275, 300 young people that are participating. I know that BHS has started with their enrolment and they have good numbers, Saltus has about 100 right now in Bronze and Silver. Warwick Academy has a good Award programme. Mount Saint Agnes has it.

"The Berkeley Institute, we just tried to do a recruitment and hopefully we will get some young people out of that. We're trying to establish it at CedarBridge Academy and then what we also do is we forge relationships with other youth development programmes such as the Girl Guides or the Girl Brigades or the Sea Cadets. Because a lot of what they're doing is what we're doing so why not gain two awards if you can? It just only makes sense.

"When I think about myself growing up, I've always volunteered in some way, shape or form with some organisation. I participated in softball at the international level and I have a degree in architecture so from a skilled technical perspective I think I (could have completed the Award levels). I think the only thing I probably haven't done is trekked through some jungles.

"As an adult, if you think about your natural affinity to things that you like, you probably experienced one of those four kinds of activities at some time in your life. Wouldn't it be great to experience that at a young age so that once you become a young adult, you already have an idea of what you like, what you're able to do and what you're not able to do?"