HRH The Duke of Edinburgh meets young people in Armagh to celebrate 25 years of the groundbreaking Joint Award Initiative

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh has today visited Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the pioneering Joint Award Initiative (JAI) – hearing from young people and thanking volunteers whose commitment, passion and drive has made the partnership such a success.

Established in 1999, one year after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the JAI is an agreement between The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and Gaisce – The President’s Award.

Since its foundation, the Joint Award Initiative has enabled all young people in Northern Ireland who complete an Award programme to choose how they want their achievements to be recognised – with a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a Gaisce Award, or an International Award certificate.

To celebrate 25 years of this groundbreaking agreement, The Duke – together with the Chair and CEO of Gaisce, Áine Kerr and Avril Ryan – visited St Catherine’s College, a Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) school in Armagh, to meet young people working towards their Award through the Joint Award Initiative.

On arrival, The Duke was presented with a bowl engraved with the JAI 25th anniversary logo in the technology building, created by Award participants who are learning design and technology for their Skills section. The Duke then met other participants at the school to learn about the Volunteering projects they are completing as part of their Awards.

The Duke joined young people who have chosen baking for their Skill section to make some soda bread, before moving outside where he met participants who are learning to play traditional Irish instruments for their Skills section.

The Duke watched pupils demonstrate their chosen Physical section activities including Gaelic football, hurling and camogie, delivered in partnership with Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association. He was also presented with an Ulster GAA jersey.

The JAI partnership has widened access, enabling more young people from all backgrounds in Northern Ireland to have the opportunity to achieve an Award, helping them to discover new passions, gain vital skills and grow in resilience and self-belief – so they’re ready to fulfil their potential.

Blaithin Mohan, 16, who is working towards her Silver Award, helped to host The Duke today. She said: “Meeting The Duke was a surreal experience. It was such a privilege to get to speak to him and tell him how much I enjoyed doing my Award.

“The dedication and commitment needed to complete my Award is what helped me to get to such a high level in Irish dancing – there’s a lot more to it than people think.”

During today’s event, The Duke met Damian Mullan, Award Manager at St Catherine’s College. He said: “It’s important that we host this visit today as a mark 25 years of the Joint Award Initiative. We have a very diverse student population and it’s fantastic that our young people have a choice of certification and that we recognise that.”

Avril Ryan, CEO of Gaisce – The President’s Award, said: “As we celebrate 25 years of the Joint Award Initiative with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Northern Ireland, Gaisce – The President’s Award is proud of how our partnership has flourished by giving so many young people in Northern Ireland the opportunity to uniquely choose either a Gaisce Award or a DofE Award.

“I am deeply grateful to my own hard-working team, Kate Thompson and her brilliant team in the Joint Award Initiative, and the Joint Award Committee made up of members of Gaisce’s Council and Network Ambassadors for the DofE NI. All of their collective dedication makes this partnership a shining example of a successful, shared island collaboration. Together, we are committed to ensuring young people in Northern Ireland continue to achieve and benefit from Award participation for the next 25 years and beyond.”

Kate Thompson, Director of Northern Ireland at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be celebrating 25 years of the Joint Award Initiative, and we’re delighted that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is here to personally meet our Award participants and hear what it means to them.

“The Joint Award Initiative is all about building community and creating a space where young people can thrive – learning skills like resilience and teamwork and having a lot of fun along the way. We’re very much looking forward to what the next 25 years will bring.”

To achieve an Award, participants build their own programmes – choosing activities and a cause to volunteer for, in order to achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. In 2023-24 alone, more than 6,100 young people started an Award programme in Northern Ireland – and more than 10,200 were actively taking part. Young people in Northern Ireland gave a total of 107,341 hours of volunteering as part of the JAI.