A DOLLAR woman has been chosen as one of just 35 youth ambassadors for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Karolina Pavlikova, 20, recently completed her Gold DofE award and has now been given a chance to advocate for young people as an ambassador.

She will form part of a 35-strong cohort of young people aged 16-24 from all over the UK who will share their expertise on key issues impacting people their age.

This will ensure these issues are heard in parliament and shape the direction of DofE charity’s work.

Karolina initially signed up to do her bronze DofE award when she was at school in Slovakia and has now completed the silver and gold awards through Dollar Academy.

“I said yes to doing the award without really knowing what I was signing up for,” Karolina said. “At the time, the DofE was relatively unknown and only four people in my class signed up.

“But in 2022, the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in Slovakia announced that over six thousand young people are now doing their award which is amazing.

“I have continued doing every activity that I began for my DofE awards, which has opened up lots of new opportunities for me.

“For example, I started knitting from scratch for my silver skills section. When Russia invaded Ukraine, I knitted broaches and bracelets and sold them, raising over £2000 for charity.

“Without DofE, I would not have been able to knit and do something as positive as this.”

Ambassadors for DofE have met with ministers and MPs, spoken at high profile events such as party conferences and have played a pivotal role in feeding key decisions across the charity.

More people than ever before started their DofE in the UK in 2022/23, with half a million actively participating and more schools, community organisations and prisons running the DofE.

The youth ambassador programme is funded by The Gosling Foundation, putting young people front and centre as future leaders.

Ashley Williams, UK youth engagement manager at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “Karolina is one of many young people who have achieved incredible things through their DofE.

“As a charity, we’re determined to put young people at the heart of everything we do and to connect them with opportunities to make a positive impact on the issues they care about – and we can’t wait to see what our new cohort of youth ambassadors achieve this year.

“As they navigate the ongoing after-effects of the pandemic and a severe cost-of-living crisis, it’s more vital than ever that all young people get access to opportunities like the DofE, which let them have fun, grow their resilience and self-belief and develop vital skills they can’t always get in the classroom.”