The International Award is an exciting self-development Programme available to all young people worldwide equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and their world. To date over 4 million young people from over 100 countries have been motivated to undertake a variety of voluntary and challenging activities.
The Award is flexible and can be done by anyone aged 14–25 in their own time: mental or physical ability or social circumstances should never be a barrier. Moreover, the individual chooses what activities to do depending on his/her interests and resources.
There are three levels of the Award in which you can participate - Bronze, Silver and Gold, with each successive level demanding increased commitment.
BRONZE—for those over 14. The minimum period of participation to gain this Award is 6 months;
SILVER—for those over 15. The minimum period of participation to gain this Award is 12 months;
GOLD—for those over 16. The minimum period of participation to gain this Award is 18 months.
The Sections of the Award
To gain an Award, all four Sections (plus an additional requirement of a Residential Project at Gold level only) must be tackled for the specified minimum period of time. The Sections are:
SERVICE
To encourage a sense of responsibility to the community through:
community service projects
conservation work
voluntary service in hospitals or community homes
or more specialised training such as lifesaving, first aid or rescue services
The emphasis of this Section is the regular giving of a service.
EXPEDITIONS
An enjoyable experience designed to cultivate a spirit of adventure and discovery; an understanding of the environment, and the importance of working together in a team with a common purpose.
The Expedition may be by foot, bicycle, boat or horseback, or alternatively it may be an equally challenging adventurous journey. Proper training and preparation, self sufficiency, self-reliance and the exploration of new surroundings are the key elements.
SKILLS
To encourage the development of personal interests and learn practical skills. There are over 200 hobby and vocational Skills from which you can choose, such as Photography, Cacti Growing, Magazine Production, and Metal Work.
PHYSICAL RECREATION
To encourage improved performance and physical fitness.
Participants are required to take part in some form of organised physical recreation and show individual progress. Most team and individual sports are included, such as football, athletics, archery, swimming and canoeing. The list is endless, depending on what appeals to you.
The Award at DESC
The award has been running at DESC since 2008 with an ever growing number of participant’s at all three levels. As well as this there is a huge commitment from members of staff throughout the school.
Participants will, with guidance from the award coordinators, choose the activities they wish to follow for the service, skills and physical recreation sections of the award. The participants will then pursue these activities independently for the required time.
The expedition section of the award is run through the school by qualified and experienced staff. The participants undergo a comprehensive training course and practice journey before the qualifying expedition. Bronze expeditions take place around February and March in the deserts of Sharjah and Oman while the silver expeditions take place at the end of November in Cyprus. The gold expeditions can take place anywhere in the world and within reason it is left to the participants themselves to decide where to go.