I was honoured this week to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Social Science from the University of Bolton. As one friend commented – “Dressing up and a show; perfect way to celebrate, John!” It wasn’t quite the normal show of a graduation ceremony that you’d expect to see. Covid rather put paid to that… Instead,…
At yesterday’s gathering of Award participants in Nairobi’s Langata High Security Women’s Prison, the keynote speech was delivered by an exceptional young inmate, who, for the sake of anonymity, I have chosen to call ‘Esther’. She handed me a copy to share with the world, which I feel privileged to do… Officer in Charge, Secretary…
I am struck by the extent to which I have become inured to stories of violence and knife crime in the UK. This morning’s pictures of Jodie Chesney in her Scout uniform – and reading of her participation in the Award – have punctured the bubble. I grieve with her family and friends – and…
People often say to me that I must have one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. They’re right. Today I began work by explaining how young people around the world are helping to deliver the UN’s sustainable development goals through the support of organisations like my own. This was in a breakfast meeting…
Tonight I was chuffed to bits to have been able to welcome the latest intake of young international Scout volunteers to their staff induction training, being held in beautiful, but very chilly, Oxfordshire. They’ve funded their own travel and expensive visa applications; they’re putting their normal lives on hold for between nine months and a…
I wrote this article for the May issue of World Student Magazine Have you ever pushed yourself to your absolute limit? So far outside your comfort zone that you wondered if you’d ever be the same again? If you have, you’ll know how scary, exhilarating, rewarding, and, quite frankly, mind-blowing it can be. Exactly…
Today, the UK Scout Association held its annual Day of Celebration and Achievement. The event dates back nearly 80 years and recognises the outstanding achievements of both adults and young people through a parade and service held annually within Windsor Castle by gift of Her Majesty the Queen. In the morning, Queen’s Scouts form…
Many years ago, I worked as a volunteer in a refugee camp on the border between Uganda and Rwanda. The experience changed my perspective on life and fuelled a thirst for social justice. Over the last few days I’ve been contacted by a number of people, asking if I could recommend any materials to…
In France they know it as a ‘foulard’; in German it’s a ‘halstuch’. In Mexico and the Spanish speaking word it’s a ‘pañoleta’. But where people speak English, they often can’t quite reach agreement about what to call it. I’m referring, of course, to that triangular piece of cloth that a Scout rolls up and…
Up at 4:00 and on the bus to the airport with a team of very sleepy teenagers at 4:30am. Finding the entrance to the domestic terminal of Katmandhu airport is a challenge, particularly in the dark. They are building the shell of a new terminal around the old one, which meant that we had to…
