Raleigh International has its origins in Operation Drake which was launched in 1978 by HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Colonel John Blashford-Snell, with the purpose of running youth projects from ships circumnavigating the globe. The aim was to develop self-confidence and leadership in young people, through their participation in adventure, scientific exploration and community service, accompanied by some of the world's foremost explorers, scientists and geographers. During the two-year project, 414 people participated in the round the world voyage on the Eye of the Wind, following Sir Francis Drake's epic route and worked on land-based projects in 16 different countries.
Operation Drake was so successful that the Prince of Wales and John Blashford-Snell created the much larger and more ambitious Operation Raleigh. This was initially a four-year project running from 1984 -1988, involving 4,000 volunteers and almost 1,600 staff. The two ships involved were the Sir Walter Raleigh renovated by young people from Hull and Zebu, a tall-ship. With the support of Kingston upon Hull City Council, Raleigh was launched from Hull in 1984.
As the initiative went from strength to strength, it was decided that Operation Raleigh should continue on a permanent basis, with the emphasis on land based expedition programmes.
To reflect the increasing number of volunteers from all over the world, Operation Raleigh changed its name to Raleigh International in 1992. The charity's focus was to build and improve on its position as a unique youth development organisation by widening the diversity of the participants, by ensuring the relevance and quality of its overseas expeditions and by raising the issues of global awareness.
Over 30,000 young people from different backgrounds and nationalities have taken an expedition with Raleigh International including HRH Prince William – who joined a Chile expedition in 2000 as part of his gap year.
Established in 1984 as a charity committed to the education of young people, we still hold true the values set by the first expedition: to empower each individual to realise their full potential through challenge and adventure projects. By the very nature of what our expeditions can offer, we strongly believe, everyone can benefit, regardless of culture, age or lifestage. Therefore, we are working in partnership with youth agencies and membership organisations to enable all those who can to access the Raleigh experience and be part of a community of over 30,000 like-minded people for life.
