15 young people from the Isle of Wight aged 14 to 18, alongside 4 adult volunteers, are now in SaeManGeum, South Korea attending the 25th World Scout Jamboree which runs until 12th August.
The majority are attending as part of ‘Unit 63’ with Hampshire Scouts and 2 are attending as part of the International Service Team (IST). Island Unit 63 members were waved off from East Cowes on Friday 28th July and, after a night in Winchester, with Unit 63 they flew out to South Korea via Dubai on the evening of Saturday 29th July.
The Island participants are due back on the Isle of Wight on 18th August.
The 25th World Scout Jamboree is the largest Scout camp to be held since the start of the Covid Pandemic with over 40,000 young people from almost every nation on earth taking part, including over 3,240 from every corner of the UK.
The Jamboree is a skills, cultural and adventure festival happening in a sensational and scenic area of South Korea. Young people from the Island will be meeting thousands of Scouts – sharing their skills and learning 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. The World Scout Jamboree is the culmination of 18 months’ work for the young people and their volunteer leaders, who together are called the UK Contingent.
The logo adopted by the young people in the UK contingent features a Siberian tiger, the national animal of Korea, named ‘Chingu’ a word that means friend in Korean. As part of their Jamboree journey the Island Scouts will have the opportunity to discover new cultures and take part in activities focusing on the environment, skills development and global development issues.
Harry Taylor, an Island Explorer Scout, said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity and I’m really looking forward to meeting so many different Scouts and learning new skills.”
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Lily Blake another Island Explorer Scout said:
“This is a huge but exciting undertaking for all of us – a once in a lifetime experience.”
UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls said:
“World Scout Jamborees only happen every 4 years and 10s of 1000s of Scouts from across the world attend each 1. Young people will experience different cultures, languages and cuisine while learning new skills.”
“The 2023 Jamboree, hosted by Korea, is set to be 1 of the biggest and most exciting yet. The theme is ‘Think big. Dream wild. Act together’ – focusing especially on how we can be trailblazers in creating a sustainable world together.”
Dave Simpson, County Commissioner for Isle of Wight Scouts said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for these Scouts and 1 of the largest contingents we have sent to a World Scout Jamboree. We’re grateful to everyone who has supported the Island jamboree participants and anyone wanting to support our Scouts is encouraged to contact us.”
During 2022 and early 2023 the young people from the Island attended training camps and team building events both on the Island and in Hampshire to prepare them for living on the hot and humid site in SaeManGeum, South Korea.
The cost of attending the World Jamboree and the associated training is £3,995 per head which includes a contribution towards enabling less fortunate Scouts to attend. Participants from the Island have paid at least 50% themselves and have been fundraising throughout this time to enable the contingent to attend.
There’s still a little bit to raise to ensure that the funds available to Isle of Wight Scouts to support future expeditions and adventures are not reduced.
