His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh joined Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants in Cardiff this week, to hear about the positive difference they are making in Wales, and to celebrate the charity’s commitment to the Welsh language.
In his role as DofE charity patron, The Duke joined young people from across Wales at the iconic Senedd building, where His Royal Highness had the opportunity to join in with their DofE volunteering activities making friendship bracelets, planting seeds, and sorting clothes for charity shops.
The Duke then headed to The Pierhead, meeting young Welsh speakers from Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg and Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni demonstrating activities for their DofE sections, and took part in a ‘helium stick’ team building activity. Here, The Duke was presented with a Cynnig Cymraeg certificate from the Welsh Language Commissioner, in recognition of the DofE charity’s commitment to making the Award accessible to all young people in Wales.
The Duke ended his visit at The Urdd Cardiff Residential Centre, and met young people learning first aid and practising orienteering skills for their DofE expedition. Young people from Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhondda and Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr also taught The Duke some key Welsh phrases.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has been providing Welsh language services for young people and those who support them for many years – providing resources, running virtual information sessions in Welsh, and encouraging more Welsh speakers and learners to take part in leadership opportunities such as the DofE Cymru Youth Ambassadors programme.
Today’s visit shows the many ways and places for young people to experience a life-changing DofE programme in Wales and highlights the incredible impact of their volunteering – strengthening young people’s connection to their community and developing essential skills that set them up for work and life.
Stephanie Price, Director – Wales, at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “It’s fantastic to have our Patron, The Duke of Edinburgh, here in Cardiff today and to show His Royal Highness the incredible impact that young people are making through their DofE right across Wales.
“Our ambition at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is to create a bilingual environment where young Welsh speakers and learners are supported to participate fully. To do this, we are working to grow DofE provision in Welsh-medium and bilingual schools, we’re strengthening partnerships with Welsh language organisations, and we’ll continue to develop Welsh language resources. We’re delighted to have been formally recognised by the Welsh Language Commissioner today, and to be able to share this achievement with His Royal Highness.”
Over 9,700 young people started their DofE in Wales last year (2024-25) – with over 15,000 actively taking part. In the same period, participants gave more than 133,000 hours of volunteering in their communities – worth over £854,000. In the same year, 1,636 young people in Welsh medium centres started an Award, with 49 Welsh medium and bilingual schools currently offering the DofE.
The Senedd
Hosted by Joyce Watson MS, The Duke began the day at the Senedd where he met with DofE supporters who had been hearing from DofE Cymru Youth Ambassadors, Lynne Neagle, MS Cabinet Secretary for Education, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Paralympian and DofE Chair of Trustees, and adventurer Tori James, the first Welsh woman to climb Everest, about how the DofE supports young people to achieve their potential.
The Duke then met with groups of young people from schools across Wales, learning about their DofE volunteering activities and chatting to DofE leaders about the wider community benefits of these. His Royal Highness tried out a few of the activities for himself including helping students form Portfield Special School to sort and tag clothes for their school charity shop and helped students from The River Centre Learning Community to plant seeds.
Afterwards, The Duke met with Voluntary and Community Sector Youth Organisations KidCare4U, Community House, Cardiff City FC Community Foundation and Ieuenctid Tysul Youth who have recently begun delivery of the DofE. The Duke marked their involvement by presenting a DofE License Certificate to each group.
KidCare4U, a community group based in Newport, aim to help more young people from ethnic minority backgrounds and low-income families to take part in DofE – meaning that they can build the resilience, belief and skills they need to unlock their potential.
Amira, 17, from Newport, who has attended KidCare4U since the age of eight, said: “If you want to do DofE, it will be life changing. I feel like I’m giving back to the community through volunteering – now I can help kids who need someone to talk to. And as a Muslim girl, camping is sort of unheard of in our community, so it’s really nice to be able to encourage others to do that.”
The Duke then visited The Pierhead, where he was greeted by the Welsh Language Commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones, and welcomed by Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhondda school choir. During a small reception the commissioner presented The Duke with a Cynnig Cymraeg certificate in recognition of the DofE charity’s commitment to promoting and supporting young Welsh speakers.
Following the presentation, The Duke had the chance to have a go at teambuilding, orienteering and expedition activities alongside 90 young Welsh speakers from Welsh Medium schools* across South Wales. The Duke took part in the ‘helium stick’ team building challenge, where a team must work together to lower a thin stick to the ground by touching it with only their index fingers.
The Duke’s final activity took place in The Urdd’s Cardiff Bay residential centre where young people helped The Duke to master a few Welsh words related to camping and the DofE’s expedition section.
Former DofE Cymru Youth Ambassador Catilin Jones, 20, from Aberdare, who met The Duke during his visit today, said: “Today has been an unforgettable experience. It was an honour to meet The Duke of Edinburgh, and it has been lovely to see everyone come together to celebrate the DofE Award in Wales and how important it is to Welsh communities. The day has been filled with pride – highlighting how exciting being a Cymru Youth Ambassador is and how we can collectively advocate for DofE in Wales and make a difference to other young people’s lives.”
