Streatham volunteer represents the UK at the 24th World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia
Matthew Johnson from Streatham Hill is representing the UK at the 24th World Scout Jamboree taking place in wild and wonderful West Virginia.
The World Scout Jamboree is an incredible once in a lifetime opportunity for all participants.
Over the course of two weeks, Matthew will be meeting people from all over the globe, taking part in an amazing skills exchange and being challenged to think about global issues in a new light.
Matthew has joined the International Service Team (IST), who are the driving force behind the Jamboree.
The IST is a multinational team of adults who volunteer to spend their summer holiday in the engine room of the Jamboree. They number 6,000 in total with nearly 1,000 coming from across the UK.
Their job is to make the Jamboree happen and the IST make every day a little easier, without always getting noticed.
Some of them are instructors planning and running activities for the tens of thousands of Jamboree participants. Others are doctors, caterers or IT consultants.
Matthew has been allocated a role with stand-up paddleboarding.
He said: “I heard about the Jamboree whilst being part of the Scout and Guide Unit at university, I have never been on one before but lots of the other members have been and they said I MUST go.
“I’m looking forward to making friends from around the world – there are 24 nationalities from every continent in my team alone! I have never taught paddleboarding before so this is something completely new to me and something I will hopefully continue when I get home.”
The event was opened by UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls who said: ‘World Scout Jamborees only happens every four years and tens of thousands of Scouts attend each one.
They are incredible festivals of peace, friendship and adventure. Young people will make friends for life with people from over 150 countries, experience different food, language and culture while learning new skills. It will be the journey of a lifetime.
“The 2019 Jamboree, jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, is set to be one of the biggest and most exciting yet. The theme is “Unlock a new world – focusing especially on how we can create a sustainable world together.”
