Brief History of Raleigh International

Raleigh International’s colourful history began with ‘Operation Drake’ which was launched in 1978 by HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Colonel John Blashford-Snell. Operation Drake’s purpose was to run youth projects from ships navigating the globe. The aim was to develop self-confidence and leadership in young people through participation in adventure, scientific exploration and community service. These youths were accompanied by some of the world’s leading scientists, explorers and geographers. The project, which lasted for 2 years, saw 414 people participate in the round the world voyage of the ‘Eye of the Wind’, following Sir Francis Drake’s epic route and worked on land-based projects in 16 different countries.

The success of Operation Drake led to the more ambitious Operation Raleigh. Initially, this was a four-year project running from 1984-1988, involving 4, 000 volunteers and almost 1, 600 staff. The two ships were the ‘Sir Walter Raleigh’ and ‘Zebu’. With the help of Hull City Council, Operation Raleigh was launched from Hull in 1984.

The great ship, Sir Walter Raleigh

HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales chatting with Venturers of Operation Raleigh

In 1992, Operation Raleigh changed its name to Raleigh International to reflect the increasing number of volunteers from around the world. The organisation’s focus was to build an improve on its position as a unique youth development organisation by widening the diversity of the participants by raising issues of global awareness.

Article retrieved from www.raleigh.org.uk

Expedition Countries

Raleigh International have run expeditions in over 30 countries including Namibia, Mongolia, Oman, Zimbabwe, Belize, Chile, Ghana, Uganda, Siberia and Brunei. Raleigh is currently running expeditions in Costa Rica & Nicaragua, India and Malaysia.

Who Goes on a Raleigh Expedition?

If you are aged between 17-25 years, you can qualify for a Raleigh international Expedition (as a youth volunteer called a Venturer) by attending an Introduction Weekend organised by Raleigh International Kuala Lumpur. If you are based in Sabah you may attend an Introduction Assessment Weekend by Operation Raleigh Sabah. You must be able to swim 200 meters and speak a decent amount of English. If you are above 25 years of age and possess necessary skills in relation to an expedition you can qualify yourself through a Staff Selection Weekend.

For the latest information on expedition, visit the website of Raleigh UK.