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Largest ever UK leader team to attend overseas event
26/03/2010
Some 500 dedicated leaders from across the UK have been selected from UK Scouting’s 100,000 adult volunteers to represent the Movement at the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden in 2011.
As well as being a fantastic opportunity for young people, the event is an amazing chance for adults to be part of The International Service Team (IST).
The IST are the volunteers who make the Jamboree happen, and their theme is 'Contribute, Develop, Inspire', which is exactly what they will do for the 30,000 Scouts at the event. In their day jobs, these leaders are engineers, teachers, nurses, bank managers, lawyers, company directors, paramedics, dental nurses, accountants and pensioners but decided to apply because they want to do something different and meet new people. The team is made up of teenagers and pensioners.
Adventure for all ages
One of the youngest chosen is Felicity Wright from Hampshire, who is 18. She said 'I remember saying to my leaders the day I came home from the last Jamboree (in 2007) that I wanted to take part in the next one in Sweden. Ever since I have told stories to my friends of the amazing time I had. I really want to be able to give other youngsters my support to enable them to experience what I was fortunate enough to enjoy'.
Felicity is one of 500 successful candidates chosen for the trip of a lifetime after impressing at the gruelling selection events held in Durham, Essex, Fife, Belfast, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire and Avon.
Probably the oldest is David Rolfe, 72, from Somerset. He said, 'I'm really looking forward to the event, I've been a Scout for 45 years and it keeps surprising me.' He added, 'I can speak five languages and I'm learning a sixth because I want to be able to speak to everyone at the event.'
At these events all those attending had to complete a variety of team activities and creativity tests to demonstrate why they should gain a place at the 2011 World Scout Jamboree.
Opportunity of a lifetime
Attending the Jamboree is an opportunity of a lifetime for the selected volunteers. Not only will they get to meet 30,000 people from nearly every country in the world, this Jamboree offers them the chance to learn new skills that they can use in other aspects of their life.
At the event the 500 leaders will be close to nature, living in wild Scandinavian grassland surrounded by trees and woodlands for the two weeks the Jamboree runs. Nature is a key theme and The Jamboree programme will use the natural environment as a learning tool, demonstrating both its vulnerability and what individuals can do to better protect the world we live in.
Chief Scout, Bear Grylls wished them luck, saying, 'Congratulations to all other UK volunteers who have been selected to go on this trip of a lifetime. While lots of people know that Scouting is all about adventure, they often don’t realise that adult volunteers get to do just as much as our young members through their involvement. The World Scout Jamboree is a great example of this. Over the course of the Jamboree they will be able to meet people from around the world, take part in amazing adventures and experiences and be challenged to think about global issues in a new light. I wish them all the best and I know they are going to have an amazing time next year.'
More information
The Scout Association is the largest co-educational youth movement in the UK. It strives to ensure that its young people fulfil their full physical, intellectual social and spiritual potentials by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves. Adults working in Scouting contribute in excess of 364 million hours of voluntary work each year to their local communities. Join the adventure
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