Words by Liz Powles
On the 8 January in the VIP Tent, a large group of people joined together to remember the World Scout Jamborees of the past and present. Stephen Smart, the Australian Contingent Leader of the World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) 2023, invited every person who has ever attended a WSJ to meet. This resulted in people showing up from as far back as the 1983 WSJ in Canada. Over 200 people attended, and the majority were from the most recent South Korean World Jamboree.
Addressing the large crowd, Stephen told everyone how he is proud of how we dealt with the unforeseen weather at WSJ in South Korea. We experienced both a heat wave and a typhoon, saying ‘it wasn’t what we planned but we got through it’. Starting to get emotional, he shared that he believes that everyone who went was challenged but came out stronger as a person. He loves how all of us are here working on Jamboree and supporting the next generation of Scouts.
Stephen then invited Lord Baden-Powell to the stage, who spoke on how he really misses the Jamboree, and the crowd loudly agreed. He continued on to say that everyone is stronger because of the camp. Fellow participants from the 2023 Jamboree in South Korea would agree with Lord Baden-Powell in saying that the drink ‘Pocari Sweat is awesome’. The popular electrolyte drink became a well-known emblem of the Jamboree.
Overall, the group of people at the reunion were just excited to see each other, staying until some of the Scouts’ curfews to keep talking about their experiences. Being able to catch up with everyone from the camp is something that everyone loved, especially seeing the people who became family over the WSJ.
At the reunion everyone loved the idea of the next World Jamboree in Poland. If you like the sound of a WSJ, make sure to look out for the Poland 2027 badges around site. You may find these with Contingent representatives in red shirts.
