Lejla (16), Jamie (14), Aniela (15) and Jake (15) from across Blackpool are four of over 3,000 young people that have been selected from the UK to join 40,000 young people taking part in the World Scout Jamboree. The Jamboree is a skills, cultural and adventure festival happening in the sensational and scenic South Korea. In summer 2023 they will be meeting thousands of Scouts from nearly every country in the world – sharing their skills and making new friends. This will be the first time that so many young people from so many different nations will be gathering together since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The World Scout Jamboree offers young people the chance to learn new skills that they can use in other aspects of their life as well as campaign for change on key world issues that matter to them.
Aniela (15) and Lejla (16) are both students at St. Mary’s High School & Sixth Form College. Aniela said “I’m really surprised I got chosen to go, I didn’t think I stood out at the selection weekend. Everyone else was so amazing! I’m really thankful to have been chosen and I can’t wait to meet all my travel buddies and go on a great journey!” Lejla added, “the fact that I got chosen is really important to me and made me really happy. I’m looking forward to meeting so many people from around the world and discovering their cultures”.
Jamie (14) who attends Montgomery High School said “it feels amazing to be chosen out of everyone who applied. The thing I’m most excited about is working together with the District to raise the money to get us to South Korea and learn their culture.” Jake (15) who attends Highfield Academy added “it feels amazing to know that I will be representing Blackpool Scouts and that I’ll be going to a Jamboree meeting so many different scouts from around the world”.
Together, they have to raise a whopping total of just over £4,000 between them! Keep an eye out on the Blackpool Scouts website and social media for some fundraising events very soon.
The World Scout Jamboree will be the culmination of 18 months’ work for the young people and their volunteer leaders, who together are called the UK Contingent.
In preparation for a ‘roarsome’ time ahead, young people from the UK Contingent have adopted a logo featuring a Siberian tiger, the national animal of Korea. They have named the tiger ‘Chingu’ a word that means friend in Korean.
Between now and July 2023 they will attend training camps and team building events preparing them for living on the hot and humid site in SaeManGeum, Korea.
The Korean hosts of the Jamboree have challenged participants to “Drawn your Dream” and as part of their Jamboree journey they will have the opportunity to discover new cultures and take part in activities focusing on the environment, skills development and global development issues.
What is a Jamboree?
The World Scout Jamboree is the largest scouting event organised by the Scout Movement, gathering up to 50,000 people from all over the world. It is above all an educational event to promote peace and understanding.
