Gilly Shirazi: Farewell from the Secretary General

Dear friends,


This is my last message to you all as Secretary General of the International Award Association (IAA). The month ahead is already proving to be a huge challenge, as I try to depart from the Secretariat where I have worked for over 29 years. There are countless files to sift through, memos and handover notes to write and, as always, thousands of emails in my inbox! All of this, however, is distracting me from the sadness I feel about leaving an organisation I have been part of for most of my working life, but I know that this is the best decision for me and for the Award.

This sadness, though, is tinged with excitement. Excitement for the future of the International Award and the opportunities which lie ahead in making this transformative Programme available to even more young people. There is much excitement for me personally too as I start a new phase in my life, especially as I do not know yet what I will be doing a year from now.

I do know that a year from now you will all be preparing to attend the 11th International Award Forum in Malta. This is a crucial meeting for the IAA and I hope that every NAA will send at least one representative. The pilot phase of the One Award Alliance project will have been completed by then and the 2012 Forum will mark the beginning of the ‘new’ Association. What NAA would not want to be present at such an historic meeting?

I am delighted to be passing the baton on to John May who joins as Secretary General on 7th November. John attended the IGE in Kenya in September to see how the Programme is shaping young people’s lives and, more importantly, how young people are shaping the International Award and ensuring it has a place in the youth development sector. John is excited to be taking over such an important and rewarding role within the Association and cannot wait to get stuck in.

We all share a passion for the Award and have seen at firsthand what a difference it makes to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide through equipping young people with practical skills to succeed in life. I have been privileged to work for the International Award and to meet and work with many of you and your predecessors. I am sorry that I have been unable to personally say goodbye to as many of you as I would have liked but I know you will forgive me. So, on the eve of my departure, I send you all my very best wishes for the future of the Award in each of your countries. Thank you for all the work you do to help young people succeed in life through the Award.

With kindest personal regards,


Gillian Shirazi