Prince Edward will visit Calgary next Friday to present achievement awards to 150 young Albertans.
The Earl of Wessex, accompanied by Alberta Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell, will be in the city to preside over The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Gold Ceremony.
The awards are part of an international program that was launched 60 years ago. The recipients at the ceremony come from across Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and will join the 50,000 other Canadian youth already involved.
“Not all learning happens in the classroom and our aim is to help equip youth aged 14 to 24 for success in life,” said the president of the program for this region, Al-Karim Khimji, in a written release Friday.
The program is meant to help participants learn through experience, with volunteer service, physical fitness, cognitive skills and outdoor adventures. It’s open to young people of all backgrounds and financial situations.
The ceremony will be held at Canada Olympic Park, and will include performances by current program participants.
Calgary’s last royal visit was in July 2011, when Will and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited the city to help kick off the Stampede parade. The stop was part of a tour of the country two months after the pair’s wedding.
On that same tour, the royal couple also snuck out to the Rockies for a getaway at Skoki Lodge. The cabin, a national historic site, is about 11 km away from Lake Louise.
More information on the ceremony and the award recipients can be found on the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Facebook page, at facebook.com/dukeofedAB.
