2023 National Jamboree

[EaglePanther]

I don't think anyone disagrees that scouting is about the outdoor and enjoying nature in all it's awe and beauty, but the jamboree is a bit different.

As a SM you are assigned a troop of ~ 50 including  leaders you have not worked with previously and with scouts of varying ages and skill sets.  At best you have a couple of meetings to discuss logistics, elections and then a single shakedown.  Absolutely no time to evaluate skills among the scouts.  Technology is a tool much like your knife, used appropriately it can save your life or that of another.  Sitting there staring at a phone is absolutely not tolerated and the only time I see that is when they are looking at what to do next or chatting with a parent or friend.

In the not so distant past thousands of daily newsletters were distributed, if something changed it was posted int he trading post or on placards around sub camps - tons of paper and labor have been removed with the app.  There is a calendar, a list of things you want to do, the ability to reach Jambo emergency services and even a link to jumbo youth protection violation reporting.  Most scouts only have the camera on their phone, and as they say the best camera is what you have with you.  A lot of memories would be lost if this tool was banned not to mention meeting someone new and exchanging contact, instagram or whatever they are using info to network in the future.

Jambo is not your standard summer camp, it is massive in comparison, too many benefits while at attending in utilize the app.  On troop campouts absolutely not always appropriate unless they are working on a project or merit badge where they need to take photographs.  Each unit needs to make decisions on how they handle electronics and what is good for one may not be good for another.  

At Jambo it adds to the enjoyment of the event, allows scouts to participate in many more activities, adds a level of security and safety and affords them to connect and stay connected, isn't that a huge part of the experience?

 

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

I've never been to a US jamboree. We stayed with our troops at ours.

As long as scouts aren't staring at screens instead of nature and each other, it sounds like you're making it work!

[RememberSchiff]

Oh bother, we need a smart scout or two to convert a cellphone into a badge that should make all happy. Call it, I dunno, a Comm Badge.

Make it so.

Edited July 28, 2023 by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

21 hours ago, SiouxRanger said:

Doing the 'right thing' is what it is all about.

"Kind" is 6th on the Scout Law, but should be second behind Trustworthy.

CBS News Scott Pelley was the last Leadership Speaker as Jamboree came to a close.  As I understand, the large closing ceremony where he had been scheduled to speak was cancelled due to heat, so he spoke earlier for nearly an hour at a smaller morning gathering in the amphitheater.

“I was a scout when I was a kid, of course, Troop 505 in Lubbock, Texas,” said Pelley. “What I wanted to tell the Scouts today was that the values in the Scout Law are what guided me throughout my life and that they could count on those values to guide them, too.”

Mr. Pelley told stories of those who impacted him like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad.

“The one tenet that I wanted to emphasize today from the scout law is Brave,” Pelley smiled. “It has applications in our national life, in our personal life, and the lives of our families to be brave enough to do the right thing, to be brave enough to reach out and understand other people. That’s the one thing I hope they took out of here.”

Source:

https://www.wvnstv.com/national-scout-jamboree/scott-pelley-final-speaker-as-jamboree-festivities-wind-down/

Edited July 28, 2023 by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

Firefly Drone Show, as I understand some 200 drones were used at Jambo. ( video attached)

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by RememberSchiff