 What is the Duke of Edinburgh Award? This is a youth program founded by the Duke of Edinburgh that offers young people the chance to challenge themselves, discover new skills and make a difference in their community. The program was founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 and has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognised adolescents and young adults were completing a series of self-improvement exercises. There are three levels which can be completed in this program. Once successfully completed, bronze, silver or gold awards are issued. The bronze and silver awards involve four main sections that must be successfully completed. These sections include volunteering, physical activity, skills and expedition. At gold level, participants also need to complete a residential section. Let's explain each section in more detail. Volunteering is about choosing to give time to help people, the community or society, the environment or animals. For example, volunteering can be undertaken for a charity of your choice. For the physical activity, you need to improve in any sport, dance or fitness activity. In short, you can do anything that requires a sustained level of energy and physical activity. For the skills section, you need to choose an activity that will allow you to prove you have broadened your understanding and increased expertise in a chosen skill. For example, sailing, cooking or playing an instrument. For the expedition section, you will need to plan, train for and complete an unaccompanied self-reliant expedition such as a camping journey in the UK or abroad. At gold level, participants also complete the residential section which involves staying and working away from home for five days, doing a shared activity or specific course. The award testifies to the resilience, confidence, teamwork, communication and drive of participants and is a great way to demonstrate and evidence these qualities to future employers. As the founder of the award, the Duke of Edinburgh has helped transform how millions of young people see themselves and see the world around them.