19th December 2002
Be prepared to celebrate Christmas and the New Year - Thai-style! That's the message to the 3,000 UK Explorer Scouts jetting off this weekend to join thousands of other boys and girls from around the globe for the 20th World Scout Jamboree.
They will be among 30,000 Scouts from nearly 200 different countries gathering for the huge event at Sattahip in Thailand.
The Scouts, aged between 14 and 18, will wave goodbye to their families as they fly out to South East Asia to celebrate the festive holiday in a very unusual way - and it's bound to be a trip of a lifetime! The UK Scouts will spend Christmas Day on the beach, together with the hundreds of adults accompanying them; two days later they will move onto the Jamboree site at Sattahip where they will join thousands of other Scouts for the massive get together.
The Scouts and Leaders were selected nearly two years go to represent the UK, and in the past 18months, all 60 units (each comprising of 36 Scouts and four Leaders) have been working closely together to develop great friendships and a team spirit. Each and every one has managed to raise nearly £2,500 to attend this spectacular event. Determined Scouts have been all over the country raising pots of money - they have done everything from charity auctions and packing bags at local supermarkets to car washing and sponsored canoeing.
Part of this money has helped the UK sponsor Scouts from six under developed countries so they can too go to the Jamboree; their attendance otherwise would not have been possible.
At the Jamboree, a World Village will be created where young people from all walks of life will camp next to each other and take part in adventurous and thought provoking activities together to share and learn more about each other's cultures for the two week long event.
The experience does not end there, for at the close of the Jamboree each Scout from the UK will travel to another Thai region, or fly to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore or Malaysia where they will spend 3 days living in another Scout's home with their family.
World Scout Jamborees only take place every four years and we believe they represent a great news story of young people from different cultures and faiths living and working together in harmony.
The 21st World Scout Jamboree will be staged in the UK in 2007, helping to celebrate 100 years' of Scouting.
Scouting is the UK's largest youth organisation with half a million members and over 100,000 adult leaders. Worldwide, it boasts 30 million members in over 230 countries and membership is growing.
Or log on to the following Jamboree media page from Christmas Eve for the latest news and photos from the UK Contingent:-
http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/inter/jambo/thailand2003/media/press.htm
