The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DoE) is moving in a new direction said its newly appointed national director Donte Hunt.

Mr. Hunt has come through the ranks of the Duke of Edinburgh three part programme, Young Life and Raleigh International.

He has been on expeditions as far away as Australia and in other parts of the world.

Mr. Hunt said his experiences broadened his horizons and they have enabled him to succeed.

?DoE gave me balance and it is good anywhere in life,? he said.

?It also gave me social balance and appreciation of cultures and a respect of other people. I have had a chance to talk to people in the UK, Australia, and get their views, which were very similar ? they are the same as us, but are just from a different places.

?The experiences helped me grow, and in the little things like speech, communication, there are countless benefits as to how it can help.?

Mr. Hunt is excited about moving out of the corporate sector and into one which he says, ?has more of a social impact?.

?It is huge for me ? it?s where I am at,? he said. ?I love it! I am one that when I put my mind to something I can do it and I breathe a sigh of relief and say, ?This is my niche?.?

But, as happy as he is to move on, Mr. Hunt is grateful for his experience within the corporate world. ?It has been invaluable because it has taught me things about management, and time management, how to operate, and financial management,? said the former Capital G employee.

The new director?s main aims are to increase the membership and raise awareness of the Award. ?We haven?t really determined what the optimal level is right now, but our main thrust to get more numbers is basically getting the information out there to the current participants, the potential participants, the parents, by means of the website (www.theaward.bm) and other materials,? he said.

?The website has everything, general information and more specific information on what the award is about. I am very pleased that the website is up ? it took about two months to put together.?

Mr. Hunt said they were also working on putting together more information for Award leaders. ?We have amazing Award leaders, who have full time jobs and they are all volunteers who take time out to have a group,? he said.

?It is not that demanding, but you have to put some time in and it is hard to take timeout, so I really take my hat off to them. We have material to help the Award leaders and prior to my coming here they didn?t have anything locally and it was like going out there blind or with whatever information that they could get from the international award site.

?So, now we have information, which is specific to Bermuda, which I think will facilitate growth. After this initial period or phase one is complete, we are looking at getting out there and doing the leg work, meeting with the award leaders, newer groups and establishing new groups.?

Mr. Hunt said some of the current groups were not where they should be, but his plan is to change that.

?There are some groups out there that are not where they should be in terms of leadership, but it is not the leaders? fault,? he said, ?It is just that they might not have the materials and it is a matter of me going out there and meeting with these persons, meeting with principals and getting the word out there. This is a part that I am really, really looking forward to.?

Right now there are about 300 young people taking part in the Award scheme annually, but Mr. Hunt hopes that they can increase that number by 50 each year.

?So next year we want to be looking at 350 or 400,? he said. ?At the moment most of the participants are from the private school sector, but I plan to see the Award?s popularity spread into the public schools.

?We are looking at Berkeley Institute and at CedarBridge Academy. They have leaders there, but they might need a little bit more support.

?Also the kids might need to be a little more aware of the benefits of the programme. A lot of it is just basically just letting the kids know what it is all about ? it?s about information.

?They may have heard about the Duke of Edinburgh Award, but they may think to themselves ?why should I do it??. I think that if they know that they could get involved with scuba diving or learn to play the guitar and get an Award that will subsequently look good on a resume. The Award is recognised internationally ? it is huge!?

He said getting the idea out there was all about marketing.

?I approach it much like I would my business/entrepreneurial spirit ? it is how you market it,? said Mr. Hunt. ?Right now the DoE is marketed by default to kids that are very gung-ho or switched on, but I think it needs to be marketed to marginalised kids ? the young people who may not have this push.

?And I think the Award needs to be developed in that regard. It is an exciting Award and you can do some great things.

?We can support these kids by highlighting the interesting an exciting things about it. This will spark the interest of anybody and your most criminal of kids will think ?I would like to do something cool like that ? let me play the drums?.

?And before you know it they are in the Award Scheme and it is taking root in the their lives. It is so multifaceted, you have the community service aspect, the sports aspect, the skill aspect and the expedition. It is all encompassing and I think it really takes hold in a young person?s life.?

When Award participants hit Gold level, the expedition is a mandatory overseas trip to Canada, the UK or the Caribbean. ?When you interact with other kids, you inevitably will change,? he said, ?And I have seen it. I have been to Uganda with the DoE, and I have seen the hardest of hard guys and girls after the trip ? totally changed. The expedition is four-days/five-nights, but the trip lasts for two weeks and it involves training and other bits and pieces.?

He added that to take part in the Award is free.

?No one has to pay and our donors and sponsors have really come together over the years to help us out,? said the director, ?Because it does help our marginalised kids. For instance, we have a group up at the Co-Ed Facility and every year they do something. They don?t have to pay, but they do have to fundraise and whatever they don?t come up with we put in the balance.?

Throughout the years the participants have done bake sales, but this year Mr. Hunt is thinking of a two-fold scheme to both raise awareness and funding.

?We are doing pledge sponsorship,? he said. ?I am just trying something different this year and I think it is a more efficient use of time ? these kids are busy and they don?t have time to do a bake sale for two or three weeks at a time. I decided to do a pledge sheet where they can speak to people one-on-one and the person will ask, ?what is this about??. So, at the same time they are marketing the information. Great!?

The Award is open to young people between the ages of 14 and 25, and they can join online.

?The website gives a listing of all the groups, the schools, and there is information that they can download and they can contact me at anytime,? he said.

?Individuals can also do it on their own, but I encourage them to get involved with a group.

?You can enter as a direct entrant to any one of the levels. Bronze is 14, Silver is 15 and Gold is 16, so you can essentially jump in at any level.?

For the skill the young people taking the Award have to go out and find something to do.

?Sometimes you have to pay and I want to contact a lot of these places and see if they can sponsor us in terms of their time,? he said. ?Maybe they can take on five kids a year, because it is tough for some people. But perhaps on a case-by-case basis where a kid wants to do something but cannot fit the bill, perhaps we can do something.?

He is also looking at getting the young people involved in another skill set. ?I haven?t said this to the Council yet, but I?d like to set up a Youth Council, where the participants get involved each year,? he said.

?Six to ten of them can talk about strategy and marketing from their level. Maybe we can have a representative that can sit on the Council with me to bring ideas and I think that is one of the things we can do as we move forward. It can be used within their skill.?

Mr. Hunt also hopes to change the destination for the Gold expedition. ?We are a member of Caribbean Award Subregional Council (CAST), but one thing that I want to offer in the future, is instead of just going to a Caribbean Island to do our expedition I want to make it more international and maybe go over to Australia,? said Mr. Hunt.

?It sells the Award plus we are from an Island, why go to another island? I am not knocking the other Islands, but it would be a totally different experience.

?Last year they went to Grenada and this year they are going to the Bahamas. Hopefully, I can say that we are going to Australia or Hong Kong or wherever.?