THE INTERNATIONAL Award for Young People has been offered in Cyprus for 40 years, but until recently only the select few had the chance the Award offers students to broaden their education and face challenges beyond the classroom.
Intended to be the “do-it-yourself kit to civilised living”, the Award encourages young people to take part in activities that test their personal boundaries as well as benefit their community. In the process, students learn important practical skills, gain a sense of independence and realise their social responsibilities. They can also have a great deal of fun.
The Award was created by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh – from where it gets its British name – and the German educationalist Kurt Hahn in 1956. More than 50 years later, the Award is changing the lives of the more than 500,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 in over 100 countries who are presenting part of the scheme.
The Award has been run in Cyprus for decades, primarily by a few private schools that offered the programme usually to their pupils only. The English School in Nicosia, for instance, has been running the Award for 40 years, with several hundred students having participated at the highest level.
However over the past few years, the establishment of a number of independent organisations has allowed both public and other private school students to participate too.
“Interaxion was started specifically to make the programme available to any young person wishing to participate,” said Dale Esau, Executive Director of Interaxion group. “We have had several individual students from state schools participate over the last few years and would like to have more.”
Interaxion Youth Programs Ltd. is one of the organisations independently operating the scheme in Cyprus. It was established in 2004 to give English-speaking students of the international community opportunities for personal growth and now has almost 600 participants enrolled in the International Award for Young People.
As a result, the International Award scheme has become increasingly popular especially since the turn of the century.
“Since 2000 numbers of participants have increased substantially,” Esau said.
“The English School accounted for most of the growth through to 2004 with the total enrollment on the island at around 800, and since then Interaxion has accounted for the bulk of the growth to the 1500 [enrollment] level today.”
One of the reasons for its increased popularity is the advantage Award holders have when applying for universities, particularly nowadays when grade As at A level have become so widespread.
“The Award is very well regarded by universities,” Esau said. “In a sea of students with good academic qualifications, students who have good grades as well as having balanced interests beyond academics are attractive.”
Despite the fact that these operators make the programme available to anyone, participants still generally come from wealthier families because of the financial requirements of the scheme.
“While the Award as a programme is trying to shape itself to be more inclusive of less privileged participants, the nature of the challenge usually requires resources,” said Esau.
“If all of the costs were funded by sponsors then of course the programme would be available to all. As it is, the cost of doing the Bronze level of the Award is about 200 euros, so to find the level of funding needed to make the programme widely available to less privileged participants would be a huge task.”
Participants in the Award take part on one of three levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold – with varying time requirements for each.
Award participants decide their own activities in four main areas of development.
‘Service’ requires participants to work in the community. Participants can choose anything from volunteering in a hospital to nature conservation.
‘Skills’ involves participants developing personal interests and learning practical skills such as cooking, or DIY.
‘Physical Recreation’ calls for participants to improve their fitness levels by undertaking some form of regular exercise.
As part of ‘Expedition’, participants work as a team to organise an outdoor adventure they will undertake together.
Participants trying to achieve the Gold Award need to fulfil a fifth requirement – ‘Residential.’ This involves living and working for a number of days with people they haven’t met before.
There is no externally specified standard that participants must achieve in any of the areas – the Award places emphasis instead on personal standards. “The only person they compete against is themselves, by challenging their own beliefs about what they can achieve,” the official Award website says.
“The chief benefits of the Award are development of a broad base of interests, the opportunity to take responsibility for their personal development and be rewarded for their commitment, exposure to service opportunities, and a chance to develop an appreciation for nature and outdoor adventure,” Esau said.
Participants agree that the Award has been of great benefit to their lives.
“My views on many social and personal issues changed and I became more mature… I learnt what hard work means, which includes setting and achieving goals,” Evie Kritioti, a Gold Award participant said.
“Facing many different challenges prepares you for a wider approach in life as it turns one into a respectable and responsible individual. The service, skill and physical sections of the Award introduce new ideas and challenges one must face in order to complete the Award. These activities … prepare you for adulthood and for a more diverse view on life,” Silver participant Alexander Hands said.
“Participating in the International Award scheme was great fun and very challenging,” said Helene Giffen, a Gold participant. “I highly recommend it to those who have the opportunity to join. You won’t regret it.”
