After the excitement of earning their Glasgow 2014 Scouting Sunrise badge, scouts from Glasgow have been enjoying the adventure of a lifetime during the last ten days, along with 40,000 other Scouts from all over the world, at the World Scout Jamboree taking place from at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex.

The Scouts from Glasgow are also avidly hoping that their next international event might be slightly closer to home and are delighted to have been showing their support for the City’s 2014 Commonwealth Games Bid, as can be seen from the t-shirts that members of the Unit are sporting!

Their arrival at the Jamboree saw their months of fundraising and teambuilding preparations for the World Scout Jamboree come to fruition and they are now enjoying the excitement and expectations of the 10-day extravaganza coming to life.

The Commonwealth Games and the World Scout Jamboree have many similarities explained Derek Casey, Bid Director for Glasgow 2014, “both events bring together people from many nationalities across the World to live out the adventure, fun and challenge that can be offered by such global events and of course celebrating the differences that exist between cultures and nationalities provides a great way to educate people about the wider world.”

Gordon Jack, 17, an Explorer Scout from Newton Mearns was “delighted to have been selected from more than 200 young people to be part of Glasgow’s contingent to the World Scout Jamboree.” During the last twelve months, Gordon along with the rest of the Unit has been working hard to fundraise and gel together with the rest of his Unit. On arriving at the Jamboree, Gordon spoke about how he “couldn’t believe the size of the Jamboree site and the number of people I met over the first couple of days was just amazing.” Reflecting on his experience during the World Scout Jamboree, Gordon continued that “he was confident that coming to the Jamboree had helped him to learn about many other cultures and he would be more tolerant of people when he got back home.”

The Scouts from Glasgow have had the opportunity to try new sports and challenges, get involved in projects making a real difference to local communities and share in a range life changing experiences with peers from all over the world. Speaking about what he has enjoyed most about the event, Neil Watson, 17, an Explorer Scout said, “the Jamboree and the Commonwealth Games have got so much in common with their aim of uniting people from so many countries and providing opportunities for people to break down their barriers using sports and Scouting, I really hope that Glasgow wins the bid and who knows, maybe some of us will get the chance to participate or to volunteer at the Games.  Wearing the Glasgow 2014 t-shirts certainly created awareness of our bid among the many new friends I’ve made from around the Commonwealth”

As well as trying our all of the activities that the Jamboree has to offer, the Scouts have been enjoying the excitement of meeting new friends from over 200 countries, learning new skills and changing the world for the better. From Zimbabwe to Zurich, Algeria to Australia, nationalities and participants represented provides for a glorious international gathering.