How we’re learning from the World Scout Jamboree in Korea

Over the last year and a half, we’ve taken a close look at our experience of the 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea. It was an event full of challenges, but also huge moments of connection and adventure for young people from the UK and around the world.

As a reminder, the UK Contingent left the site early due to significant safety concerns, relocating to Seoul. Eventually, the whole Jamboree site closed for the safety of all participants.

World Scouting events like Jamborees, Moots and Roverway are powerful because they bring young people together from every corner of the globe. They promote mutual understanding and create bonds of trusts across nations. They’re a chance to share different cultures and traditions, learn new ways of Scouting, and build friendships that last a lifetime.

They remind us that, while Scouts looks a little different in every country, we’re all part of one worldwide family.

Learning lessons

To make sure we learn as much as possible from the Jamboree in Korea, we carried out three reviews inside Scouts:

1. An independent review commissioned by our Board,
2. An operational review, and
3. A review led by the UK Contingent Management Team. Alongside these, a wider review was also held at World Scouting level.

Together, these generated more than 350 recommendations for us to consider.

Putting learning into practice

This summer, our Board of Trustees signed off the key recommendations of our internal review. Alongside that, the wider review has concluded, and the focus now shifts to putting this learning into practice.

The International Team will continue to take the lead on embedding these changes, updating and developing our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as our experience grows.

Some of the key recommendations include:

• Moving to face-to-face recruitment for International Service Team (IST), Unit Leaders and members of the Contingent Team, recognising that ballots can still play a part, but won’t be the only method. 
• Making recruitment open and transparent, helping to build diverse teams with leaders focused on their core role. 
• Developing clear and consistent Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), so future teams have a strong foundation to work from. 
• Going back to basics by not hosting large pre or post events unless there’s a clear need (for example, to address access challenges). 
• Strengthening governance and oversight of Contingents through operational leadership and committees of the board. 

This isn’t just about what happens at UK-led events. We’ve learned so much from others too; how they deliver their events, how they support volunteers, and how they respond to different challenges. In return, we share our own experiences, including the realities of operating in the UK’s climate, culture and context.

A positive experience at the World Scout Moot

Already, this learning has shaped how we approached this summer’s World Scout Moot in Portugal, where more than 8,000 Scouts came together.

Feedback from the UK Contingent has already led to immediate updates in our SOPs changes that’ll continue to evolve as we prepare for the next World Scout Jamboree in Poland in 2027.

And of course, our international adventures don’t stop at Moots and Jamborees. Every year, UK Scouts take part in Explorer Belts, community projects, regional jamborees and events hosted by our friends around the world. That’s why our operating procedures are designed to be living and breathing, always improving as we gain new experience.

Improvements at a global level

We’re also contributing to improvements at a global level. At the World Scout Conference in Cairo last year, we supported the adoption of the new World Scouting Events Strategy to strengthen governance and quality across world events.

Then this summer, at the European Scout Conference in Vienna, we put forward a resolution to improve the governance and support of Roverway. Both steps show our commitment to making international Scout events stronger, safer and more inclusive for everyone.

Alongside my staff counterpart, I’ll continue to provide leadership to this strand of work, making sure the lessons we’ve learned are carried forward. By doing that, we can make sure every international opportunity, big or small, is both safe and inspiring for the young people and volunteers who take part.