The Duke Joins Dynamic Conversations On Holistic Education In Tāmaki Makaurau And Pōneke

Auckland, Thursday 16 November 2023— Continuing his visit to Aotearoa, The Duke of Edinburgh attended an education panel event at Government House in Auckland last night.

As Patron of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, HRH ignited enthusiasm among over 60 principals, workshopping ways the Award can seamlessly complement formal education while nurturing holistic learning.

Co-facilitated by Leanne Otene, President of the New Zealand Principal’s Federation, and Andrea Duncan, GM Culture, Capacity, and Performance at Kiwibank and Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award Trustee, the panel delved into the essential skills and attributes propelling young New Zealanders toward success in a dynamic world.

Hosted by Her Excellency, The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of New Zealand, the Auckland event featured influential voices, including Sarah Manley (CEO of Mitey), Sir John Kirwan Foundation, Steve Jurkovich (CEO, Kiwibank), Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch (author and educational researcher), and Peter Jones (Principal, Manurewa High School).

Emma Brown, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award, said: “Tonight’s event was truly inspiring. It was an honour to join a group of dedicated New Zealand principals in an engaging kōrero on ways to better foster holistic learning in schools and kura. Attendees brought their passion and experience to the stage, helping to ignite discussion. It was a great opportunity to develop pathways for better collaboration.”

Wellington, Friday 17 November 2023— This morning, The Duke landed in Wellington for a workshop event hosted by Sport NZ. Gathering 10 youth organisations, including Scouts Aotearoa, Special Olympics New Zealand and New Zealand Mountain Safety Council, the workshop focused on fostering collaboration and building greater opportunities for rangatahi.

In Aotearoa, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award works closely with organisations. Collaboration is paramount to ensuring that every young New Zealander has equal opportunities to engage in holistic learning programmes, such as the Duke of Ed, either in school or through community groups.

Raelene Castle, Group CEO of Sport NZ, said: “Today was a wonderful opportunity to host a range of Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa’s recreation partners as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards 60th anniversary celebration.

“Today’s kaupapa focused on the opportunity to collaborate with the Award, and to support better outcomes for rangatahi. It was inspiring to see the commitment from the ten organisations present, whose passion about the role of physical activity and its contribution to youth wellbeing, is evident in their mahi.

“Congratulations to the Duke of Edinburgh Award for reaching 60 years of service to our communities, and seeing over 250,000 rangatahi gain an Award.”

The Duke continues his visit of Aotearoa in the coming days.

About The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

• The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a global, non-formal education and learning framework which challenges young people to develop new skills, get physically active, learn about teamwork and leadership through Adventurous Journey and volunteer within their community.
• The Award in Aotearoa New Zealand started in 1963 and since then, more than 250,000 young people have been involved. Since 2009, the Award has been known as The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award – reflecting the significant achievements of both its Founder, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and Sir Edmund Hillary, one of New Zealand’s great adventurers.
• It was founded by HRH The Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, in conjunction with German educationalist Kurt Hahn.
• It is known by a range of different names around the world – including The President’s Award in Kenya, DofE in the UK, The International Award for Young People in India and Mednarodno priznanje za mlade (MEPI) in Slovenia.
• There are currently more than a million young people completing their own unique Award programme, via hundreds of thousands of youth-focused partners and operators, including schools, youth organisations, examination boards and youth offenders’ institutions.
• The Award is delivered around the world by schools, colleges, universities, employers, social clubs, uniformed and non-uniformed youth organisations, young offenders’ institutions, religious organisations, sports clubs, and a whole host of other civic organisations.
• Since its launch over 60 years ago, millions of young people have participated and received Awards, with millions more benefitting from its impact in communities around the world.
• HRH The Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh is Patron of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.

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