President’s Award for Youth Empowerment

by

Films by South African DofE participants showcased at Cannes Film Festival

Those who are familiar with the DofE, such as Tunde Folawiyo, may know that in South Africa, this scheme is known as the President’s Award for Youth Empowerment. It has been in operation in this country for over three decades, during which Tunde Folawiyotime it has helped countless numbers of young people to reach their potential. Last month, two participants from South Africa had the films they created as part of their Award activities screened at the famous Cannes Film Festival.

They were offered this opportunity by Films Without Borders (FWB), a UK-based organisation that decided to collaborate with the Award committee, in order to offer filmmaking classes to disadvantaged youths around South Africa. The two participants each made a 10-minute film, using the skills that the FWB staff had taught them over the course of several months.

The two finished pieces, entitled Finding Ubuntu – Township Heroes, and The Robertson Challenge, were filmed during the summer of last year. The latter was created at the Robertson correctional facility, by a local youth group and a number of inmates, and tells the story of a prisoner who wants to become a successful chef. The former was made in Cape Town, and is a collaborative effort, made by the students of St George’s Grammar School, Rustenburg Girls’ School, and Chrysalis Academy. It features a series of interviews with residents of the Gugulethu township, and focuses on understanding the concept of Ubuntu (which roughly translates as ‘human kindness’).

The CEO of the Award in South Africa, Martin Scholtz, spoke to the press about the films’ inclusion at the festival, noting that he and his team were ‘thrilled’ when they heard the news, and that the experience had inspired the two participants to continue exploring the art of filmmaking through the Award programme.

The two films were showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in May; anyone with an interest in this subject, like Tunde Folawiyo, will know that this is an extremely prestigious event, which has been held each year since 1946. FWB, which helped the Award participants to create these films, is a registered UK charity that offers filmmaking workshops to teens aged between 15 and 19. It has worked with disadvantaged youths in Palestine, Rwanda and Israel, as well as South Africa, and since 2010 has received support from the Earl of Wessex.

by

D of E success stories from across the African continent | Tunde Folawiyo

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has been up and running in many African countries for several decades now. Supporters of this type of programme, such as Tunde Folawiyo, are probably aware that over the years, the D of E has provided countless numbers of young people with the guidance they needed to overcome Tunde Folawiyodifficulties in their lives, and discover their talents and abilities. Here, we’ll be discussing the experiences of two youths from Kenya and South Africa, whose involvement in the D of E helped them to flourish, in spite of the challenging circumstances in which they grew up.

In Kenya, the award is known as ‘PA-K’ or the President’s Award-Kenya. Throughout the last 48 years, the programme has helped many young Kenyans to develop important life skills that have helped them to not only make positive changes in their own lives, but to also make a difference in the lives of those around them.  Take for example, Julius Irungu Krush; this young man grew up in complete poverty, residing in the Mathare slums, where there was often no electricity or running water.

During his childhood and teens, Julius has no role models or authority figures in his life that he could look up to, or seek advice from. Discussing his upbringing, he explained that by the time he reached his teens, he began to feel as if there were no hope for the future – an opinion which changed quite dramatically when he discovered the award programme.

In particular, it was the Service activities which spurred Julius on, and made him feel far more optimistic about life. Tunde Folawiyo, and others who are familiar with the D of E, understand how valuable this particular aspect of the programme can be. Through the Services section, Julius discovered a passion for community work, and set up an initiative called Raising Hope, which focuses on mentoring children living in the Mathare slums, and helping them to cope with the problems they face in their environment. Julius’ experience in the programme inspired him to return to it, as a voluntary leader, after he completed his activities and received his Gold award.

A similar story was shared by a South African participant named Vionaver Booysen, at a D of E event held in Franschhoek last year. The programme here is called the President’s Award for Youth Empowerment, and has been in operation for over three decades. Vionaver Booysen grew up in a poor neighbourhood call Hanover, where the opportunities for education and employment were virtually non-existent.

But rather than allowing her situation to determine her future, Vionaver decided to take action. She joined the award programme, and began to work on a project called CASE (Community Action towards a Safer Environment) which focuses on improving the living conditions of the residents of Hanover. After becoming a Gold award recipient, Vionaver went back to work for CASE full-time, as a Youth Co-ordinator.