Luana Sasarman, 16, from Bath, who is currently doing her Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), wants to show that doing a DofE Award can be rewarding for all young people after being selected as a Youth Ambassador for the charity.
Luana, who attends King Edward’s School, joins a cohort of just 35 DofE Award holders aged 16-24 from all over the UK, who will advocate for young people by sharing their expertise on key issues impacting them. Together, they will make young people’s voices heard by speaking at events, meeting key decision-makers in Parliament and beyond, and feeding into decisions to shape the direction of the DofE charity’s work.
Speaking about her DofE Awards, Luana explained, “I loved discovering new interests and skills that I didn’t know I had through my DofE. I found a new interest in cyber skills, so I did a cyber qualification as part of my Bronze DofE Award.
“For my Silver Award, I learned a completely new set of skills like Arabic and boxing, which I really enjoyed. I chose Arabic because I’ve always been passionate about languages and my DofE Award motivated me to learn a new language. Being able to continue with boxing through my DofE Award has really helped me develop as a person.”
To do their DofE, young people aged 14-24 choose their own activities to complete Physical, Skills and Volunteering sections, an Expedition and a Residential at Gold level. They have fun, discover new passions, give back to their communities, grow in resilience and self-belief, and develop vital skills employers value – while working towards a widely recognised and respected Award.
As a Youth Ambassador, Luana plans to give advice to those who may not know how to get started with their DofE or who are feeling worried that they won’t be able to finish their sections.
“It is my dream to inspire as many young people as possible to push themselves further every day and develop themselves as a person in such ways that they will be the leaders we aspire to in the future,” she said.
“I also want to use my position to create as many opportunities for young people to start their DofE journeys as possible. I believe it’s essential to give everyone an equal amount of opportunities to achieve their true potential.”
Funded by The Gosling Foundation, the Youth Ambassador programme puts young people front and centre as future leaders, involving them in shaping the DofE’s work to benefit other young people.
DofE Youth Ambassadors have met MPs, spoken at high-profile events such as party conferences and the DofE Gold Award celebrations in Buckingham Palace Garden, represented the DofE at international forums and played a pivotal role feeding into key decisions across the charity.
Ashley Williams, UK Youth Engagement Manager at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said, “Luana is one of many young people who have achieved incredible things through their DofE. As a charity, we’re determined to put young people at the heart of everything we do and to connect them with opportunities to make a positive impact on the issues they care about – and we can’t wait to see what our new cohort of Youth Ambassadors achieve this year.
“As they navigate the ongoing after-effects of the pandemic and a severe cost-of-living crisis, it’s more vital than ever that all young people get access to opportunities like the DofE, which let them have fun, grow their resilience and self-belief, and develop vital skills they can’t always get in the classroom.”