In just a few short weeks’ time, thousands of teenagers will be traveling to South Korea to attend the World Scout Jamboree. They’ll be flying in groups of around 36 young people, with each group accompanied by four long-suffering and truly wonderful volunteer adult leaders. If you’re one of those teenagers, or one of those…
Waiting for the participants at this year’s World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, USA, will be 40,000 new friends that they haven’t yet met. If you’re one of them, reaching beyond your own Troop / Unit for the first time and actually beginning to forge those friendships can feel a bit daunting. What do you…
This summer, 45,000 Scouts from more than 100 countries will converge on West Virginia, USA for the World Scout Jamboree. I was recently asked to provide some suggestions for some UK Scouts for making the most from the experience. (I’ve had the privilege of attending a few Jamborees over the years.) Here’s my starter for…
Anyone involved in Scouting will tell you that it’s an organisation that puts great store by its history. I’m proud to have played a small part in a particularly special chapter. The story starts at the 3rd World Scout Jamboree, held at Arrowe Park, Merseyside in the United Kingdom, ninety years ago in 1929. 30,000…
On Monday evening, the President of the United States of America visited the National Jamboree of the country’s Boy Scouts. In making the visit, he was by no means the first one to do so and he won’t be the last. The President of the United States of America has been the “honorary president” of…
This morning, in just a few minutes time, at 8:15am, Hiroshima and Nagasaki will fall silent as tens of thousands of people pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the world’s first atomic bombs. In both cities will be young representatives of almost every nation in the world – Scouts, participating in the 23rd…
I’ve been asked to share the speech I made at today’s opening ceremony for the Heads of Contingent Meeting, preparing for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan. So, here it is… Deputy Governor of the Prefecture of Yamaguchi, president of the Scouts of Japan, brother and sister Scouts, This weekend marks an important…
The last time I sat in the Great Hall at Bristol University’s Wills Building, I was sitting my Finals exams for my degree. Last night, I stood where the invigilator had stood – and spoke to a room full of Scout Leaders about the impact of Scouting, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and youth work…
So that’s it then. I’ve just left the closing ceremony of the 21st World Scout Jamboree. Outside Jamboree HQ, in the arena, 40,000 young people and their Leaders are partying. We’ve handed the World Scout Flag on to Sweden, who’ll be hosting the next Jamboree in 2011; we’ve heard the Secretary General of the World…
I arrived this morning and, despite the rain in other parts of the country, am now a delightful shade of lobster red. The Jamboree site is truly enormous. It takes about an hour to walk from one side to the other. The staff restaurant, designed to feed 8,000, is the largest structure of its kind…
