I'm Bora Tezkan. I am currently an 11th grade high school student. I completed the Bronze, Silver and Gold Categories of the Award Programme that I started when I was 14 years old. I attended the event hosted by The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Programme "Live a Legacy: A One Hundred Year Celebration".
“Live a Legacy: A One Hundred Year Celebration” I met people from many other countries of the world and Award Participants at the Gala dinner organized as part of the event. People I met included Winston Churchill's grandson and General Secretary of the International Award Foundation. In particular, I had the opportunity to talk with the Secretary General, Mr. John May, and the Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Stephen Peck, about the progress of the Award Programme in Turkey and how Turkey is currently viewed by the world. Mr. Stephen gave me a lot of information about the Old Naval College, which is also the venue for dinner and night, apart from the Award. This school was established around 1600 and has an education system designed solely for Maritime education. Nearly 200 students studying here hosted us in this beautiful place. What made the night special was the speech of HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. In his speech, he thanked all the participants and Award Leaders who participated in the Award. After his speech, we listened to the performance of the London Youth Symphony.
Frankly, I felt very special for participating in such an event at the end of the night, and I am very happy to be able to introduce Turkey to people there and give different ideas about our country. On the last day, I had the chance to go to the International Award Foundation's Award House in London with a small gift such as Turkish Delight, to have a taste and chat with the employees in order to leave a mark on Turkey.
At the end of this beautiful trip, I realized that the Award really taught me to appreciate something. Because I realized that; if you value something, it will come back to you with its advantages. In summary, in order to be equipped and add value to ourselves, we must build our lives not only on academic but also on multi-faceted studies.