Gaisce – The President's Award
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Gaisce – The President's Award () is an
award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...
in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, earned by young people between the ages of 14 and 25 for participating in several activities for a certain period. There are three awards:
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
,
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
and
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. The term "gaisce" is from the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
and can be translated as "achievement". The award was established by a trust deed under the patronage of the
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
on 28 March 1985. In 1988 the award became part of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association. The profile of the award was raised substantially following the first award ceremonies performed by President Hillery in 1989.


Overview

Gaisce's mission is to contribute to the development of all young people through the achievement of personal challenges. The process is non-competitive, meaning that all participants who complete their challenges may receive the Gaisce. Awards can be entered directly (without a previous award) or indirectly (from a previous award). The award is presented at a regional ceremony by either a famous person (bronze/silver) or the President of Ireland (gold). There are four challenges in each award, which all must be completed outside of school activities (except ECDL): *Community Involvement – Charity work, Help with a youth club, Green Schools, Tidy Towns, Helping with children *Personal Skill – ECDL, Musical instrument, Dance, Singing lessons, Web design, Learn a foreign language (No sport allowed) *Physical Recreation – Walking, Cycling, Tennis, Badminton, Golf, Soccer, Gaelic, Rugby, Swimming, A marathon *Adventure Journey/Research – Adventure center, European walk/cycle, Mountain hike, Canoeing, (Those who would be unable to accomplish this due to a physical disability perform a suitable replacement activity such as research) or *Residential Project (Gold only) – Volunteering in a foreign/3rd world country, Attend a sports coaching, Irish language course Every participant has the support of a President's Award Leader (PAL) who guides them through the challenges and sets appropriate activities.


Bronze

Participants must be at least age 15 to enter. A minimum of one hour a week is required. There are five sections to complete; *Community Involvement – 13 weeks *Personal Skill – 13 weeks *Physical Recreation – 13 weeks *Additional activity in any section of your choice from the three above – 13 weeks *Adventure Journey/Research – Plan prepare and undertake a 2-day, 1 night adventure journey in a group covering a minimum total distance of: Walking 25–35 km or Cycling 100–130 km over two consecutive days.


Silver

Participants must be at least age 16 to enter. A minimum of one hour a week is required. There are five sections to complete if entering directly to the silver award with no previous Bronze Gaisce award, four if entered from with a Bronze award already received; *Community Involvement – 26 weeks *Personal Skill – 26 weeks *Physical Recreation – 26 weeks *Additional activity in any section of your choice from the three above – 26 weeks (not required if the participant has received the Bronze award) *Adventure Journey/Research – Plan prepare and undertake a 3-day, 2 night adventure journey in a group covering a minimum total distance of: Walking 50–79 km or Cycling 190–220 km over 3 consecutive days.


Gold

Participants must be at least age 17 to enter. A minimum of one hour a week is required. There are five sections to complete if entering directly to the gold award with no previous Silver Gaisce award, four if entered from with a silver award already received; *Community Involvement – 52 weeks *Personal Skill – 52 weeks *Physical Recreation – 52 weeks *Additional activity in any section of your choice from the three above - 26 weeks (not required if the participant has received the Silver award) *Adventure Journey/Research – Plan prepare and undertake a 4-day, 3 night adventure journey in a group covering a minimum total distance of: Walking 80–110 km or Cycling 300–350 km over 4 consecutive days. or *Residential Project – A shared activity with a group in a residential setting for 5 days and 4 nights.


Affiliation with Scouting Ireland

Gaisce is now closely affiliated with
Scouting Ireland Scouting Ireland () is one of the largest youth movements on the island of Ireland, a voluntary educational movement for young people with over 45,000 members, including over 11,000 adult volunteers . Of the 750,000 people between the ages of 6 ...
. It is integrated into the new 'One Program' for those who are at the qualifying age. Scouting Ireland has an award scheme called the Chief Scout Award which is an award that runs in conjunction with the Gaisce, although it is considered by many to be more difficult. Scout, Venture Scout, and Rover Scout Chief Scout Awards are affiliated with the Bronze, Silver and Gold Gaisce Awards. Through the Chief Scout Award you can in turn earn your Gaisce, but this does not work the other way around; if you have completed your Gaisce you do not receive your Chief Scout Award as well. All leaders who have been invested into Scouting Ireland and who have the appropriate training can take the role of being a PAL, if they so desire.


Summary of requirements


Bronze Award (15+ years)

All Participants must undertake a further 13 weeks in either the Service, Skills or Physical Recreation.


Silver Award (16+ years)

People who do not have the Bronze Award must undertake a further 6 months in either the Service or the longer of the Skills or Physical Recreation Sections.


Gold Award (17+ years)

People who do not have the Silver Award must undertake a further 6 months in either the Service or the longer of the Skills or Physical Recreation Sections.


Joint Award Initiative

In
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
participants completing the Duke of Edinburgh's Award can choose to accept a certificate from the Gaisce or an International Award Certificate instead of a Duke of Edinburgh certificate.


See also

*
Education in the Republic of Ireland Education in the Republic of Ireland is a primary, secondary and higher (often known as "third-level" or tertiary) education. In recent years, further education has grown immensely, with 51% of working age adults having completed higher edu ...
*
Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...


References


External links

*{{Official website, http://www.gaisce.ie
Scouting Ireland Official Website
Irish awards Awards by age of recipient Education in the Republic of Ireland Office of the President of Ireland