CANADA
Gala tribute in Toronto honours Prince
Philip for youth awards program
An assortment of business magnates, politicians and
ambitious young people were among those who gathered Monday for a gala
tribute to Prince Philip and his awards program for young Canadians. The
Duke of Edinburgh was full of light-hearted quips for the audience of
400 that included Belinda Stronach, the failed Conservative leadership
candidate, and Barrick Gold magnate Peter Munk, and was hosted by
supermarket billionaires Galen and Hilary Weston. “I was very impressed
by the — how shall I put it — implied wealth of a lot of the people here
this evening,” the prince said to chuckles from the $1,500-a-plate
dinner guests. “You just keep on making it and then passing it on to
us.”
Philip, 82, flew in from London especially for the
fundraising dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of The Duke of
Edinburgh's Award — Young Canadians Challenge. He was to return to
London on Tuesday, and joked that Weston's glowing introduction had made
it more than worth his while for “a very jolly evening” on his 75th
visit to Canada. “It was worth coming here just to hear those kind words
from Hilary Weston,” the duke said following remarks by Ontario's former
lieutenant-governor. “She didn't have a trowel with her, but she might
just as well have had.”
The evening raised $470,000 for the program, founded
in 1956 to encourage personal development and community involvement by
young people and came to Canada in 1963. The event included the
participation of 40 gold award achievers — representing each year of the
program's history in Canada.
Award-winner Ismail Maan, 19, said it was an honour to
meet the man who inspired him to excel in its four tenets of community
service, physical fitness, skills development and outdoor expeditions.
But the aspiring child's rights lawyer, who begins an undergraduate
degree in international relations at Washington's Georgetown University
this September, joked he almost didn't recognize the man who founded his
award. “He was doing his rounds so we just stood there and waited for
him to come. First we had to nail down which one he was,” said Maan. “We
were pretty sure we knew what he looked like.”
Award-winner Jack Schneider, 57, was in the unique
position of introducing the duke to his two sons, Jack Jr. and Mark, who
are also award-winners. Schneider, CEO of the Calgary water purification
company Hydro Processing, said he's noticed a resurgence of interest in
the program among young people. “We've sort of gone through an age of
apathy where people have moved into themselves more than going out and
doing a whole bunch of other things,” said Schneider, among 18 Canadians
who received the award in 1966. “I think the age of apathy is waning and
that age of involvement is increasing.”
More than 30,000 Canadians take part in the program
each year. It is open to young people between age 14 and 25. Each of the
three levels of the award — bronze, silver and gold — require an
increased level of commitment.
The program is present in more than 100 countries.
30 April 2004
http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=canada_home&articleID=1597691
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