Memorandum by James A Gilman (HON 36)
YOUTH HONOURS
I see from the national press that your Committee
is currently engaged in considering ways in which the nation's
honours system might be revised, and has invited replies from
the general public to proposals outlined in your recent consultation
paper. May I take the liberty of inviting Committee Members to
consider, additionally, the question of the value of instituting
a system of "Youth Honours"? In this context, may I
invite your consideration of the attached proposal which, in the
past, I have submitted both to the Prime Minister's Office and
that of HRH the Prince of Wales, with interest having been expressed
in both quarters but no action proposed.
I should be happy to discuss this with any and all
interested parties. As an indication of my involvement with young
people, may I add that I am Director of a European Youth Initiative—Europa—Youth—which
was established in Wales in 1992 with the support of The European
Commission.
A NATIONAL YOUTH
HONOURS SYSTEM
A Proposal
The letters "OBE", "GCMG",
"VC" and the like appended to the surnames of deserving
adults all reward and recall individual lives distinguished by
service, bravery or merit. A highly significant element of such
awards is that they are a visible public testimony to the latter,
drawing attention to the achievements of their respective recipients.
No such means exist, however, of rewarding, and of publicly proclaiming
the comparable achievements gained by young people, as opposed
to their adult counterparts.
Yet young people often deserve, through their
actions at a time of crisis or their example over a period of
time, public recognition of that action or that example, by means
of an award testifying to their achievement. Moreover, given that
young people are still in their formative period of growth en
route towards accepting adult responsibilities, this generation
would in many cases benefit even more from the public acknowledgement,
and the spur towards even greater achievements, that such a reward
would represent than would adults for whom such a distinction
more often crowns a lifetime of achievement rather than marking
the first, most vital step towards such a lifetime of distinguished
works or actions.
It is true that ways and means already exist
of awarding deserving young people; but one essential factor is
missing from all such award schemes: the kind of distinguishing
external and public testimony to their achievements that accompanies
such awards made to adults, viz.: the addition of an appropriate
set of initials after the recipient's name, publicly testifying
throughout their life to the honour accorded them.
What we should like to suggest is an Honours
System for young people aged under 25. In its simplest form, this
might consist of an award made to young people who had in some
way made a positive contribution to society through their own
individual actions, and would incorporate the award of some designation
to be added to the recipient's name, as a public testimony to
their achievement and the distinction conferred upon them. Such
an award could have a major impact upon the lives of many young
people, leading them to commit themselves even more positively
to their own personal development and to some form of service
to their local community.
The precise title of such a distinction is a
matter for further consideration. One contender might perhaps,
I would suggest, be something like "Challenger", denoting
both that the recipient has accepted the challenge to make a positive
contribution to society and that he or she is throwing down their
own challenge to society, to make positive use of whatever that
person has to offer in the way of commitment, talent, or enthusiasm,.
An example of such usage in practice might be the following:
John Anthony Smith, Chgr.
Jenny Robinson, Chgr.
Another possibility might be the title "Squire",
to be signified by the use of the initials "Sqr" placed
after the recipient's name, viz: John Anthony Smith, Sqr. As an
honourable and historic term used in the past for a young man
in service with a knight who might, in the course of time, expect
to become a knight himself, such a title carries with it precisely
that connotation of service and of chivalry, coupled with a worthiness
qualifying the bearer for public approbation, that one might wish
such an honour to indicate. There would, of course, be a similar
and equivalent title for young women.
Furthermore, such a Youth Honours System might
not be confined solely to within the borders of the UK, but could
be extended throughout the whole of Europe. The introduction of
such a system would reflect the ideal of Britain's moral leadership
of Europe to which Government has given its support in the course
of many speeches.
February 2004
|
