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| Thailand has been a host for several
international events such as the World Bank Meeting,
UNCTAD Conference, ASEM Meeting, Asean Games and Sea
Games, some of them for many times. Now, another great
event with tens of thousands of participants is taking
place in Thailand -- World Scout Jamboree. |
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HM King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, the
Chief Scout of the National Scout
Organization of Thailand
(Photo by Royal courtesy) |
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| We are proud to say that Thailand
is the third Scout founder-country in the world, next
only to England and the United States of America. This
year, the National Scout Organization of Thailand is
hosting the 20th World Scout Jamboree from 28th December
2002 to 7th January 2003 at Sattahip, Chon Buri province.
The Jamboree, i.e. a large rally of Scouts, occurs every
four years, hosted in rotation among its member countries
and this is the first time for Thailand to take the
role of host. The participants in the Jamboree include
approximately 20,000 Scouts from 154 member countries
around the world, 4,000 Scout supervisors and 6,000
volunteers -- 3,000 from Thailand and 3,000 from other
member countries. |
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Brief
Description for the
20th World Scout Jamboree |
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The theme for the event is "Share
Our World, Share Our Cultures". The reason is that
the Scouts who gather in the 20th World Scout Jamboree
are from all corners of the world. They have different
nationalities, cultures, and languages. But this is
not important. They will be camping and doing a variety
of activities together which, finally, will result in
sharing experiences with each other and they will become
friends.
Boys and girls who join in the event must have ages
between 14 and 17 years. They are under help of adult
volunteers or International Service Team (IST). An IST
member is an adult who is 18 years of age or older and
has service mind to help people. They must have the
ability to communicate in at least English and French.
The IST will take responsibilities in providing, preparing,
organising and supervising the activities for the joining
Scouts.
During the Jamboree, the Scouts will participate in
many kinds of activities to develop their skill and
intellect, such as Global Development Village, Our Heritage,
Crossroads of Cultures, City of Science and Technology,
Tournament, Face the Waves and Exploring Nature. They
will enjoy and gain benefit from these activities. For
example, they will take adventure in the Tournament
and learn information and technologies in the City of
Science. In addition, they will know how to live together.
Apart from those activities, there are four special
events in the 20th World Scout Jamboree. The Opening
Ceremony will take place on the afternoon of
28th December. There will be a flag parade and a declaration
of opening the Jamboree. New Year's Eve
will be held just before the midnight of New Year's
Day. Everybody in the camp, in national costume, will
join in the countdown to celebrate the New Year. Inter-Religious
Celebration is the event that all participants
will join in a celebration of their own religion on
the New Year's Day afternoon. Then they will go to the
Central Arena for an inter-religious celebration. The
Closing ceremony will take place on
Tuesday, 7 January, consisting of a flag parade, a renewal
of the Scout Promise and presenting the World Scout
Flag to the host of the 21st World Scout Jamboree 2007.
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History
of World Scout Movement |
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| World Organization
of the Scout Movement was established in England in
the year 1908 according to the concept of the book
"Scouting for Boys" which was written by
Lord Baden Powell (B.P.). B.P. was the founder of
the movement and he was elected as the president of
World Scout in the year 1918.
Before the Scout Movement was founded, B.P. was a
soldier. When he took duty of protecting Mafeking,
in South Africa, against the Boars, he set the youth
troop to help him and be spies in the battle. Each
of the boys in the troop had an age of 9 years up
and there was a young boy as a leader. At that time,
the boys proved that they had ability as good as an
adult. They were trained seriously like a real soldier
and they served the army well.
In the year 1907, B.P. took 20 boys to Brownsea Island,
in the south of England, and let them go camping together
for 9 nights.
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The boys were divided
into groups of 5 and one in each group would be the
leader for his own group. They would live together
in the island, take adventure and learn how to help
themselves. By noticing their living, B.P. realised
that the boys would show their full ability and responsibility
when they lived in groups.
After that, in the year 1908, B.P. published the book
"Scouting for Boys" to declare Scout objective,
Scout law, Scout promise, Scout code, way of training
Scouts, etc. His book was highly welcomed from general
people and, later, the World Organization of the Scout
Movement was formed.
In former times Scouts were only boys. Since 1990,
girls have also been admitted as Scouts but they do
not practise for helping in military anymore. They
are taught to be good people with strong leadership
which makes them useful for developing their countries
in the future.
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History
of Scout Movement in Thailand |
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King
Vajiravudh (Rama VI, 1910-1925),
the founder of the Wild Tiger Corps of
Thailand and the Thai Scout Movement |
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A Scout-like organization was first
set up in Thailand as the Wild Tiger Corps in 1911(in
the reign of King Rama VI). At that time, the king thought
that if the Scout principle could be applied to Thai
youth, it would be useful for his country. But, in the
initial stages, he was concerned that his citizens would
misunderstand and confuse the training of Scouts with
the training of soldiers. Therefore, he established
the Wild Tiger Corps by using his men as first members
and trained them in military drills and spying skills.
Then, after the corps was firmly established, he tried
to familiarize his people with the new unit. Not long
after that, the Wild Tiger Corps expanded throughout
the country.
After two months of establishing the Wild Tiger Corps,
King Rama VI had an idea of training boys in that way.
Realizing that youths would be an important force in
the future, he began to found the Thai Scout movement
in the same year (1911) and it has played an important
role in public development since then.
Thai Scout Organization has spread all over the country
and it is highly developed at present. His Majesty King
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the Chief Scout of the National
Scout Organization of Thailand. This has help the Scout
Movement to grow rapidly. |
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HM
King Bhumibol (Photo by Royal courtesy) |
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| The
Scout training has become one of the subjects in the
primary and secondary education curriculum of Thailand. |
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Scout activities
while camping |
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| So both boys and girls who are
at school age must be a Scout. |
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| They are taught to do many activities
such as tying rope into many kinds of knots, reading
the compass and helping themselves in emergencies. |
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| Furthermore, they are required to
learn basic first aid, how to be a leader and how to
live together through camping. They are encouraged to
show their opinions and creativity. |
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| In conclusion,
the Scout movement is one of the important factors
in developing Thai society. |
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| The 20th World Scout Jamboree
will give Thailand a chance to further promote its
Scout Movement and strenghten its amicable relations
with all of the participating countries in the future.
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