The Duke of Edinburgh Award programme has been running in Bermuda for the past 43 years and organisers on the Island continue to keep the community aware of the benefits of this long-established programme.

And although The Award has been running for a number of years, and has seen many high-profile Bermudians come out of the programme, it remains a fantastic learning tool for young people to realise, set and attain their goals.

What sets The Award apart from other youth programmes is the fact that young people must plan their time out to keep track of their busy schedules.

But what is often misunderstood about The Award is that it will add more to a student's workload, which is often filled to the brim with commitments.

"Kids already have a full schedule but what they don't realise is that a lot of what they are doing can go towards The Award," explains Kenneth Bartram, The Duke of Edinburgh Award in Bermuda's current chairman.

"Through The Award kids learn those negotiation skills and it means that they have to keep a diary so they know what they have to do to accomplish their goals and they have to make the time to do those things," he adds.

Mr. Bartram, who took up the three-year post as The Award chairman in 2007, has been involved in the programme since he completed his Gold Award in the early '90s.

He was 23 at the time and was looking for a new challenge. He had heard about The Award but never had the chance to get involved while at school.

"The Youth Centre, now known as The Centre on Angle Street, was a hang out for me at the time and as soon as I saw a sign advertising The Award on the bulletin board I signed up right away," says Mr. Bartram.

He finished the Gold Award in 18 months, adding the additional time he needed to complete the challenge as he skipped the Bronze and Silver Award because of his age. He is now the Award Leader of De Navigator's Open Award Group at The Centre.

The Award is available to young adults aged between 14 and 24 and comprises four elements — community service, skill, physical recreation and adventurous journeys. Gold Award participants must also complete a residential project in a foreign country.

"The programme itself is almost like a secret to some people. They've heard about it but still don't really know what we do," says Mr. Bartram. "We find that a lot of people will start the programme because they know a friend who had done it, but they don't always know the benefits. This will teach them those life skills which is sometimes a hard thing to come by these days. It's a passport to adulthood and teaches them the skills they need as an adult."

Mr. Bartram is also the vice chairman of the Caribbean Award Sub-Regional Council (CASC), which brings together resources for smaller islands, like Bermuda, to take part in foreign challenges so participants can complete their adventurous journeys and residential projects as part of The Award. This year, The Award participants travelled to Guyana to trek through rainforest — a very unknown terrain in Bermuda. They also took part in community service projects including planting protective mangroves along coastal areas and picking up trash. Duke of Edinburgh Award participants from all over the Caribbean joined the Bermudian contingent. Next year, the challenge will take place in Germany.

"Another part of the challenge is kids spending time with other kids that don't speak English. There is a very broad spectrum of people involved and it's great to see them trying to talk to each other and enjoying themselves," says Mr. Bartram.

Currently The Award in Bermuda is planning to launch the BANX (Bermuda Award National eXpedition) programme which will enable Bermudians to complete their adventurous journey on the Island. It will also be a way to bring together Bermudian students from across the Island who might have never met through their schools.

"This will bring together public and private schools and make it something purposeful and for them to integrate and see that they aren't different," explains Mr. Bartram. "The more we bring the community together at this young age the better able we will be to work out some of the issues we are currently facing."

The BANX programme is set to launch next year and will include non-competitive, youth-focused, community-building activities, says Mr. Bartram.

This year also saw the launch of The Bridge Programme, which introduces middle school students to The Award. It started this school year at Clearwater Middle School and sees the students performing the activity from each category for just a month with a final team work challenge at the end in place of the camping expedition.

For those interested in taking part in The Award in Bermuda, all they have to do is find an Award Centre (see directory at left) and get in touch with the Award Leader. Then the fun begins when deciding which activity to choose that will fulfil the skill, physical recreation and community service parts of the programme. The only expense ranges depending on what activity is chosen.

"The record books are free and we do some fund-raising to assist for those that need the help for the overseas expeditions. We definitely believe in not leaving anyone behind," says Mr. Bartram.

For further information about The Award visit the newly launched website at www.theaward.bm. Tonight, 200 2010 Gold, Silver and Bronze recipients will be presented with their award by the Governor Sir Richard Gozney at a ceremony to be held at Riddell's Bay Golf Club, which will also feature the world's number one Golf Trick Shot Artist Peter Longo. The 4th Annual Golf Challenge between award participants and corporate partners will take place tomorrow at Riddell's Bay Golf Club.