Jamborees are Great Spaces to Demonstrate our Diversity

Message by Craig Turpie, Chairperson of the World Committee on the Opening of the Virtual 8th Africa Scout

Dear friends and fellow Scouts,

On the occasion of the 8th Africa Scout Jamboree, it gives me immense pleasure to send you the warmest greetings from the entire World Scout Committee and your fellow 57 million Scouts from all around the world. This Jamboree is the culmination of many months of planning, and I would like to thank and congratulate the many adult volunteers who have been so heavily involved in the preparations.

In particular, I would like to thank the hosts Uganda Scouts Association for all their efforts, and by extension pay tribute to President Museveni, Patron of the Uganda Scouts Association for the work involved in protecting the forest at Kaazi Scout Camp and supporting the renovation of the facilities.

I would also like to thank all National Scout Organizations across the great Africa Scout Region who have played their part in creating this unique virtual experience for so many Scouts.

The programme for this 8th Africa Scout Jamboree really is exciting with great opportunities for patrols of Scouts across Africa to come together virtually and participate in cultural activities like Scouts got talent, music extravaganza and a cultural evening. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about Scouts for SDGs and Earth Tribe through Scouts go Solar and Plastic Tide Turners.

There will be sessions on our Messengers of Peace initiative. Opportunities to learn more about really important topics including diversity and inclusion, adolescents and youth nutrition. There are going to be some great challenges for you too – the camping at home challenge, the digital livelihoods challenge and top chef challenge. And to top it all, an opportunity for us all to learn more about and experience Uganda.

Events like these are all about you, the Scouts – the next generation of leaders. Our movement has a big ambition to develop and grow the Scout movement. It’s about scaling up to tackle the big issues affecting both people and the planet. What an opportunity, because today 46% of the world’s population is under 24 years of age – the biggest youth generation in history. Our focus on growth is not just for the sake of growth. It’s about equipping more young people with the skills and values that provides.

By the way, did you know that somewhere in the world, a young person makes their Scout promise every 17 seconds? My encouragement to all Scouts participating in this 8th Africa Scout Jamboree is to live up to the motto and step into Africa’s tomorrow. Make the very best of this opportunity to learn something new about other people’s cultures. And by doing so you may just learn something new about yourself too.

Jamborees, whether virtual or in-person are great spaces where all of us, from different culture, different backgrounds, even different languages and different ages can come together speaking the common language of Scouting. Together we can demonstrate, through our enthusiastic participation, that we value our incredible diversity. That we can see how we contribute to creating a better world. Knowing more about yourself, knowing more about each other, and appreciating and celebrating our diversity is one of the most important steps in leading change and making a difference.

Stay safe online during the event and have a wonderful 8th Africa Scout Jamboree. Thank you!

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