Activities
Put together your very own Duke programme, which in this way will only be carried out by yourself! Dream big and choose activities that really interest you and that you may never have thought you could do before. Now or never!
The Duke consists of five sections:
Below you will find information about each part of the Award and the activities you could choose. They are only examples – you can choose completely different activities as long as they fit one of the areas.
Service
Service is simple: it’s about doing something good for others without getting paid: for a special person, for your school, your community, society, the environment or for animals.
You can do your service at a charitable institution, e.g. the food bank or help for the homeless, you can do shopping for elderly people or take their dog for a walk. You can also help younger children with their homework or reading at your school or youth centre. Being a class representative also counts as service.
You can learn about the UN rights of children and young people from a child rights organisation and pass on your knowledge in the school environment or make sure that there is less plastic waste at your school or in your community. You can also spend an hour each week cleaning stumbling blocks in your community.
You can regularly collect litter outside your school or campaign against racism. Just look around and think if there is something that bothers you the most – and then try to do something to change that and make the world a bit more beautiful and maybe a bit more just.
A variety of scholarships are available for students who are supported by Strong Teens projects. Please contact us for more information.
Ideas for Service Activities during Covid-19 pandemic
- Do you have an idea on how to make a difference in your community? Apply to our partner WHO/UN Nations for a grant for your project! Find out everything you need to know about applying for funding for your project here. Contact us for more information
- Love to do research? Check out Zooniverse, where you can participate in a variety of projects. On this worldwide platform, you can contribute to a project around the globe from the comfort of your home. To make it count for your service – look for projects that can be run by people. It can also count as a talent if you support research in space, climate change, nature, etc.
- Volunteer to help someone who is visually impaired. Be My Eyes – offers opportunities through its app (available for Andriod and iPhone) to volunteer as a sighted volunteer or help translate the app to make it accessible to more people in their native language. You can find volunteer options at the bottom of the page under Join the Community!
- Help your community! You can work in the garden, pick up groceries for someone in need. There are endless ways you can support family, friends and your community
- Make a video to support the people who are fighting every day to keep us safe during the pandemic, such as caregivers and doctors. You can also make a video to cheer up someone who is alone in isolation
- Prepare food parcels, go shopping or walk the dog of people affected by the coronavirus
- Become a social media expert and create or maintain a Facebook or Instagram page / website for a local group or charity
- Support your local church/mosque/synagogue/prayer house. Ask what you can do
- Take part in a youth leader course, e.g. as part of a Juleica training. Contact the German Red Cross, for example
- Check out platforms like GoVolunteer or vostel to find out about possibilities to volunteer online
- let us know of any great ideas you and your friends have on how to support others during these challenging times!
Please make sure to talk to your parents about any online activities you are planning on doing and check with your Award Leader if they are suitable for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.
Skills
The skills section is about dreaming big. Is there something you always wanted to be able to do? Then choose that as an activity in the skills section, even if you don’t think you can do it. The Award’s motto is not for nothing: You can do more than you think!
The skills section includes all non-sporting activities. You could set yourself the goal of reciting a challenging poem by heart, playing a certain song on a keyboard, sowing some plants and taking care of them until they reach a certain size, knitting a scarf or jumper, sewing a shirt, making and editing a film, reading a book as an audio book and many more.
Examples of activities you can also do during Corona time:
- Learn life-changing skills like music, art and acting online with over 70 world-class celebrities. Your adventure could start here, for example: https://www.eprograms.ca
- Take an art class online, check out free art classes for kids and adults from Youtuber Wild Free and Crafty
- Learn a new language. Use an app like Duolingo (bonus: free) or Rosetta Stone (monthly subscription)
- Learn a new skill of your own choosing. Check out Skill Share to discover a world of new skills. The possibilities are endless
- Love to explore? Check out Zooniverse, where you can support climate change or even map the stars as a participant!
- Learn to cook
- Learn sign language. Sign Language 101 has a range of free tutorials, or try it on Manimundo
- The Canadian Space Agency has launched online courses with its Junior Astronaut Programme. If you’ve ever wanted to explore the stars, check out these programmes (may be limited depending on location)
- Online Course: Your Digital Self (free of charge)
Ideas for Skills Activities during Covid-19 pandemic
- Kiva is a free online homeschooling platform that teaches you about world issues like global poverty, refugees, food security, clean water, entrepreneurship, the value of family and financial inclusion. You can check out lessons here!
- Audible has made their library of books free. You can find a variety of books here
- Learn to play an instrument – use YouTube or other online videos
- Learn to knit, sew or crochet with the help of online tutorials, make birthday cards or greeting cards
- Learn to garden – plant a vegetable or herb patch at home
- Create an app to help with online learning for primary school students
- Learn coding and programming skills online
- Research your family: create a family tree online and use resources to find out more about them – call your family to talk about their memories and family stories and write them down
- Read and write: write a book review about each book you read and share it with others
- Painting, drawing or model making
- Make a film or learn to make a website
- Set up a bird feeder and learn about the birds in your city
- Meditation – Headspace app
- Learn music and discover how it relates to maths, science and art! Google Chrome Music Lab lets you make and share your own music!
- Read with Antolin
- Take part in a first aid course for babysitters and get a certificate
- Take part in a special first aid course for Duke participants
- Do a free online first aid training (only available in English – thanks to International School of Bremen)
Fitness
In the fitness part of the Award, you can choose any type of sport, including dancing, individual and fitness sports. In summary, it can be said that everything that requires physical exertion and an increased level of energy counts.
In any case, it is important that you do the fitness activity at least one hour a week and that you improve from week to week. Possible goals could be to score a certain number of goals with the left foot, to jog a certain distance or to hold a certain yoga posture.
Ideas for Fitness Activities during Covid-19 pandemic
- Dance like no one is watching. At Dance Alone Together you can find a variety of digital dance classes. You can also search for studios near you. Many offer free daily classes via Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- Stretch and move with Lululemon. The Canadian has created an online hub for sweat sessions and mindfulness exercises. Each exercise is about 20 minutes long
- Bring your love of sport home. Developed with the NBA, HOMECOURT helps build skills in a variety of sports. The platform is free until 31 May
- Make an hour-long YouTube fitness video each week (you can try bootcamps, Pilates, dance routines and more)
- If you have access to an outdoor space – do a circuit workout, maybe even together with friends
Learn some sports skills from Olympians. Check out Learn Sports – they have videos on dynamic stretching as well as training videos for basketball, football, football and rugby to name a few - Do a bike ride in your area every week – use an app to record your routes and upload them to the Online Record Book (ORB) as a record
- Stay fit with fun and regular WiiFit games
- Complete a hike in your local area each week and plan it using special apps. You’ll learn a lot to prepare you for the expeditions once these can be done again. It’s more fun when you’re in pairs but make sure to follow all rules of keeping distance, even in the outdoors
- Do yoga and learn the headstand and handstand (you could also use YouTube tutorials)
- Set yourself fitness challenges (e.g. 20-100 push-ups, plank challenge, step challenge)
- Do the 5 Tibetans daily
- Go jogging regularly, alone or with friends – be aware of the distancing rules
- Train for a competition and set yourself a clear goal
- Do the Tabata workout!
- Join Alba’s daily exercise class
- Learn to juggle
Expeditions
Which activities count
The expeditions part of the Award is about independently planning and carrying out an unaccompanied expedition with a specific aim in a group of 4-7 participants. The expedition training includes navigation, bivouacking, behavior in nature, outdoor cooking, teamwork and first aid. Before each final expedition, you have to conduct a practice expedition as a group in order to prove that you have enough experience to carry out the final expedition successfully and safely. At the end of each final expedition there is a presentation on your chosen topic. This can also be done as a song, poem, video or similar.
If possible, the expeditions take place in unspoiled nature. The use of your cell phones is restricted by arrangement.
The following 15 conditions must be met in order for an expedition to count towards your Award:
15 Bedingungen für Expeditionen
Possible modes of transport:
– by foot
– bicycle
– sailboat
– canoe or kayak
– wheelchair
– horse
Residential Project
Which activities count
The Residential Project is about finding your way in an unfamiliar environment and entering new relationships. For example, you could work as a teamer at a children’s holiday camp, take a cooking or language course in another country, or take part in an ecological project.
It is important that your project takes place in an organized framework. It often makes sense to combine your gold project with personal interests.
How long does the gold project last:
The Residential Project lasts 5 days and 4 nights. In exceptional cases it is possible to carry out the project on two consecutive weekends. This must be coordinated with the programme provider.
We are happy to share ideas and suggestions from other countries with you – write to us!
