HRH Prince Edward to visit Aotearoa New Zealand, in celebration of six decades of the Award 

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award is delighted to welcome His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh to Aotearoa New Zealand in November, as we celebrate our 60^th anniversary.

 His Royal Highness, who is global Patron of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, will undertake the visit as part of an Asia-Pacific trip, where he will meet Award participants and the adult volunteers who support the Award’s delivery, in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia. 

Emma Brown, CEO of the Award says: “For six decades, young New Zealanders have been stepping outside their comfort zones and discovering their potential through the Award.  Over the past 60 years more than 250,000 rangatahi have been involved, supported by thousands of volunteers and organisations. We are incredibly proud of all that the Award community has achieved and we very much look forward to celebrating some of that mahi when The Duke of Edinburgh visits in November.”  

The visit will see the Duke meeting Award participants, volunteers and organisations from across the country to both celebrate past achievements and discuss how the Award can be used to support even more rangatahi to build essential skills in the years to come.  

About the visit 

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh will visit four countries in Asia-Pacific:

Singapore 

On 14 November The Duke of Edinburgh will attend the Commonwealth Games Federation’s General Assembly in Singapore. His Royal Highness, who is Vice-Patron of the Federation, will meet with representatives of the 72 members of the Commonwealth Sport Movement and hear about recent Games and Sport for Development initiatives. 

Aotearoa New Zealand

On 16 November The Duke of Edinburgh will begin the visit in Aotearoa New Zealand where The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award is celebrating its 60^th anniversary. HRH will meet Award participants and volunteers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and take part in Award activities, including joining tree planting and an expedition aboard a ship.

Australia

On 20 November, His Royal Highness will arrive in Sydney to visit various Award Centres, engage in meetings on non-formal education and learning and on youth engagement in emergency volunteering, He will also celebrate dedicated Duke of Ed Volunteers at a special ceremony, presenting them with long service medals.

Indonesia

On 24 November, His Royal Highness will visit Jakarta in support of the Award in Indonesia, where it was first introduced in 1993. He will celebrate Award holders, meet Alumni and see the Award in action at the British School Jakarta.

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.
• The Award in Australia was started in 1959. Over 800,000 young people have participated the Award in Australia since it began. The Award is referred to locally as the Duke of Ed in Australia.
• The Award in Indonesia was first established in 1993 – and has been known as various names over the years. In 2019, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Indonesia was established as a National Award Operator. More than 30,000 young people in Indonesia have taken part in the Award. 
• 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.

Contact details

Please email Emma Brown, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award Aotearoa New Zealand, for more information or to discuss media opportunities.