Award and Scouting joint statement strengthens global relationship

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award and the World Organization of the Scout Movement, longstanding partners, have issued a joint statement aimed at strengthening their relationship across the world.

In the statement, which is being issued to all National Award Operators and National Scout Organisations, the two organisations affirm their ‘complementary values and goals’ and the achievements which both have seen in recent years through ‘strengthening links at national level’.

As the Award is a global framework for non-formal education, it is open to any young person aged 14-24, including Scouts. Many Award participants become involved through their membership in Scouts. For Scouts, doing the Award gives added value: while many Scouting activities will count towards Sections of the Award, Scouts are also encouraged to engage in activities that they otherwise might not have done. The Scouts also get the additional recognition of the Award, a globally recognised and valued non-formal educational qualification.

Doubling the recognition for young people

Common activities such as voluntary service and outdoor activities that are part of regular Scout activity and those activities done to achieve The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award can be counted in both organisations although done once. As a result, young people can double the recognition they get for their activities.

The statement emphasises the huge benefits for both organisations in working more closely together. In some countries where they have developed joint initiatives there have been dramatic increases in the number of participants doing the Award through Scouts, and Scouting has seen a dramatic increase in numbers in the 14-24 years age range.

John May, Secretary General for The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, comments “I am delighted that The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award and the World Organization of the Scout Movement are continuing to strengthen what is already a close and fruitful relationship.  In some countries where the two organisations have developed joint initiatives, we have seen dramatic increases in the number of participants doing the Award through their membership of the Scout Movement.   This can only be of benefit to the young people involved and, ultimately, to the communities in which those young people live.  As a lifelong Scout myself, I appreciate the terrific opportunities that Scouting can give to young people.  Engagement in the Award provides  those young people with international recognition of their achievement - a real win-win situation for everyone involved.”

Source: http://www.intaward.org/news/award-and-scouting-joint-statement-strengthens-global-relationship

Asia Pacific Regional Training for Trainers (T4T) Workshop

2nd - 5th April 2014 at The Sagar School, Tijara, Alwar

A report by Priyank Kumar Gupta

The Asia Pacific Regional Training for Trainers workshop was organized by the National Award Authority India (NAA) from 2nd to 5th April 2014 at The Sagar School, Alwar. The workshop was lead by Rob Oliphant (Asia Pacific Regional Programme Manager) along with Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager IAYP India) and Skand Bali (Head, National Training Panel, India). I was a participant of the T4T workshop along with seventeen other participants from across the Asia Pacific Region (India 12, China 3, Nepal 2, Maldives 1). The workshop trained Award Leaders to become Award Trainers primarily focused on learning the use of training aids (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and presentations. Other sessions included:

• Training framework
• Overview of NAOME assessment (needs, aim, objectives, methods, evaluation)
• Training needs analysis
• Training design
• Multiple intelligences
• Development of training materials
• Award mapping
• Group work
• Development of training aids
• Delivery styles & skills
• Generation theory
• Overview of International Award Foundation (IAF), Online Record Book (ORB) and IAYP India pilot
• Quality assurance of Award units
• Action planning & evaluation.

In order to be proficient in any of the above mentioned aspects of training, the participants were instructed on their role and responsibilities as future Trainers and were taught the essentials of giving clear instructions for an activity during a presentation through NAOME and TRaM (task, reason, method), CaRS (context, report back, summary). The participants were introduced to different learning styles and factors that keep the current generation ticking were also discussed. The participants learned the art of presentation of live scenarios to different stakeholders of the Award Programme.

After each presentation Rob Oliphant, Bivujit Mukhoty and Skand Bali provided their feedback which was very useful for providing a concrete base to the participant's training skills. The training team also shared the key notes and documents which will be useful for development of training aids. The workshop concluded on 5th April with the presentation of Training badges to the participants by Jayshree Balasaria (Principal, The Sagar School) Thanks to the NAA India for providing this opportunity to us and also a big thanks to The Sagar School for their great hospitality and support for conducting this workshop. Click for pictures

Experiencing a new outlook towards camping

Rishikesh: An unforgettable experience.

Camping as an Adventurous Journey is not only about completing the required timescale that you need to complete your award but becomes much more fun when it is about learning about the nature and experiencing thrills that will help shape you into a better person. Here is an experience shared by Aishwarya Kakkar, a student of Delhi Public School, Gurgaon who for their Adventurous Journey went to the beautiful valley of Rishikesh.  

Pre-rafting talks delivered by professional trainers. 

The four day Adventurous Journey kick started on the night of 24^th October, where 92 students of the IAYP India Award Programme and 10 teachers left for Rishikesh. Little did we know the fun surprises that were waiting for us at Rishikesh.  Four hours into the journey, at around 2 am the buses stopped at ‘Subway’ for an early morning feast where we all ate to our tummy’s delight. The following days spent camping in Rishikesh was equally fun.  Activities such as rock climbing, rappelling, river rafting, trekking, beach volleyball and body surfing were planned for us.  Rafting being a new activity for majority of us was extremely thrilling.  We were lucky enough to experience rapids such as ‘three blind mice’ & ‘sweet sixteen’. Moreover, from time to time under the guidance of our leaders we were allowed to swim freely in the Ganges which altogether took our elation to a whole new level.  The warmth provided by the Sun in the afternoons was very comforting. The ideal weather also allowed us to enjoy the rest of the activities planned for us to their full extent. The adrenaline rush felt by each and every student during all these activities cannot be described in words. Though there were difficulties and fears faced by some of us whilst performing the activities but they were all erased by the welcoming and experienced instructors. We also played games and learned how to cook during a camping expedition. A 3 kilometers trek was arranged for us where we all learned a lot about our environment, its resources and its conservation in the most fun manner possible.  The students loved waking up to a beautiful sunrise, running on the white sand and quietly watching the sunset whilst sipping their hot tea. Singing, dancing and eating the yummy self-cooked food around the bonfire is a memory I will never let go of. During the night time we all used to gather around the bonfire which when complimented by the beautiful starry night sky helped us attain a state of bliss. Our trip to Rishikesh truly revamped our outlook towards camping.

CHANGING FACE OF OLCOTT MEMORIAL SCHOOL

Status report for IAYP India Special Project.

After undergoing a thorough process and various inspections undertaken by State Education Board, one of IAYP India’ special project Olcott Memorial High School is now Olcott Memorial Higher Secondary School. 

Other than the wonderful academic achievement of the school, they have also been doing extremely well in sports activities. Recently, school’ junior rugby team won the state level tournament and are now vying for the inter-state tournament to be held in Kolkata. They are also doing incredibly well in other sports both for boys and girls, including kho-kho, kabaddi, hand ball and football, all with school training organized by teachers and alumni.

The school had also participated in ‘Paryavaran Mitra’ State Level Competition and was selected as one of the best schools (5th place in the state). Some of them also received individual awards, such as Student Award to Vijayalakshmi (1st place) and Guide Teachers award to Shyamala & Saraswathi (3rd place).

The school is also planning free computer education and English speaking classes for interested students, school’ alumni and local youths. We at IAYP India, wish the school all the best for their future endeavors.         

THE DAY WHEN I CHOSE NOT TO BE AN IGNORANT PASSERBY

As we always say, the International Award for Young People programme is not only effective during the course of the programme but it also leaves a lasting impact on each one of our participants – an impact that will continue to prove fruitful as they continue on the journey called life. Here is the story of selfless attributes and courage shown by Urmi Sanghavi (Silver Award holder) from The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society School. 

During a road trip to my friend's house, I witnessed an accident, where an old lady looking to cross the road was hit by a speeding motor bike. This resulted in the poor lady been thrown off the road and into a quagmire. Our first thought was to actually pass by the accident spot and leave the old lady in our rear view mirror, but the thought of us being equally responsible for anything happening to the victim made us stop our car. The only reason we didn't wish to stop was the harassment of police and court cases that we would inevitably have to face in the aftermath of the accident. It was our moral and inner-conscience that made us realise that the happiness of saving the old lady's life is bigger than any other harassment that we would have to face. So we jumped out of the car and rushed to assist the lady who was moaning in pain, the only positive sign being that she wasn't bleeding much. Then while trying to help her out of the marsh I realized that during the course of the accident, she had broken her arm, which was her major source of pain. Thanks to the First Aid training that I had during my Silver Award IAYP Programme, I was able to administer first aid, and I managed to put a splint under her injured limb to provide proper support to the broken bone. After that we carefully lifted her out of the mud and while providing a proper cushion to her broken arm, we were able to put her in the back of our car. After reaching the closest hospital, she was able to get proper medical support and was kept under observation. 

To our surprise, rather than being harassed by the local authorities, we were applauded for our courage and our service in providing comfort to the old lady when everyone else was turning their back, which in itself was an achievement which needed no award. After two weeks I got a call from an unknown number where I was greeted by the very same old lady who couldn't stop thanking me for what we had done. I felt elated and felt grateful to the IAYP India Award programme that I did two years ago in the school. The programme taught me how to give service to the society, as we are part of society and undertake the responsibility to take care of it.

Let us end with the beautiful quote by English writer John Bunyan, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”