Celebrating DofE awards

Hundreds of people attended an event celebrating young people who have taken part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award programme at Paisley Town Hall, writes Jack Thomson, Local Democracy Reporter.

Guests at the ceremony, which was held last month, ranged from those involved and their family and friends to programme leaders and head teachers.

They gathered to hear participants share their experiences as they received bronze, silver and gold certificates and badges recognising their achievements.

The award is an internationallyrecognised personal development programme, which is open to any young person aged between 14 and 25 years old.

Youth services, the council’s youth work team, coordinates the development of the programme on behalf of the local authority and works in partnership with schools and community groups supporting young people to take part.

An update was provided in a report to the communities and housing policy board, which will be considered by elected members on Tuesday.

It said:“On February 21, an event was held in Paisley Town Hall to celebrate the success of the young people of Renfrewshire engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme.

“As part of the celebration it was recognised that by taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, young people have contributed over 4,000 hours of volunteering in their local communities.

“Renfrewshire is very much to the fore in supporting DofE with a record-breaking 450 young people starting their DofE journey this year so far, whilst across Scotland there are 21,000 who have newly engaged with DofE.

“The celebration event is the first time Renfrewshire has held such a big awards ceremony, with over 500 guests attending that included young people, their family and friends, DofE leaders, head teachers and wider Renfrewshire supporters.

“All gathered to see and hear participants talk about their experiences and receive their bronze, silver and gold certificates and badges recognising their achievement.”