Millions of Scouts from across the globe came together for an October weekend jamboree of gigantic proportions - but not in person – instead, clubs like Proserpine Scout Group embraced the digital age.
At the annual JOTA-JOTI (Jamboree On The Air and Jamboree On The Internet) scouts from 171 countries participated in the world’s largest digital Scout weekend.
Held every year in October, the event connects millions of young people from almost every country on earth for a full weekend promoting communication, friendship, and global citizenship.
The weekend is broken up into two sections: JOTA and JOTI.
In JOTI, Scouts worldwide log into a closed internet server to chat to each other about how different their world’s may be, as well as have a chance to play Minecraft together.
Proserpine Scouts Qualified Cub Leader Sally Griffith said two patrols from Proserpine’s Cubs and Joeys, spoke with Scouts from as far afield as Indonesia and parts of America.
“It makes the youth realise how big the world is,” Ms Griffith said.
“We explain on regular Tuesday night meetings that Scouts is worldwide, how many kids are in it, but until they chat to a Joey in Indonesia, Fiji, or even to another cub in Sydney, they don’t realise how massive it is.”
For the JOTA portion of the jamboree, Scouts head on a more traditional adventure, going south to Farleigh at the Hibiscus Coast District Scout Park where they camp, enjoy radio centred activities, and learn Scout values.
Ms Griffith said activities for JOTA include the use of GPS navigation, where one group is directed by another via radio in a scavenger hunt style event.
“To see them use a radio for the first time and become comfortable with it was really cool,” she said.
“The awesome thing about this camp is those JOTA activities, but also when they’re completed, then we have the rest of the weekend to entertain the kids and get them to do so many different things they wouldn’t normally get to do.
“They might take part in cooking for badge work, bushwalking, even just setting up tents and learning the buddy system – things they might not get to do.
“Even though this is a technology style camp, it still gets the kids off technology and teaches them the skills they need to be successful Scouts.”
Proserpine Scout Group headed on a combined jamboree where they spent time speaking with Scouts across the globe, as well as taking in nature and valuable skills
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