“It was such a great experience interacting with scouts from all over the world and seeing their interest in changing the world together”, says Anne-Laure. Charline also commented on the experience of working with youth from so many different countries: “it’s an ideal place to realize the impact that our work has on them. Yes, we still can change the world!”

Through experience-based cooperative activities, the scouts have explored the diversity present in the Jamboree and connected with one another, while experiencing the complexity of human interactions. By entering into dialogue on the roots and dynamics of conflict, participants have discussed about the core values needed to deal with conflict situations in a positive and constructive way.

After one of the activities, a participant shared her feelings: “I feel sorry I couldn’t keep my promise…I told my group that we couldn’t cheat, but I didn’t manage to change their mind”. Another participant also shared her own reflections: “ if we thought more about the others and not only about ourselves, everything would work better”.

Respect, empathy, forgiveness, trust and responsibility are the main values highlihgted by the scouts. Stamping their hands along with each one’s values, the young scouts have reaffirmed their commitment to building more peaceful and harmonious relations in their communities.

The workshop’s objectives and methodology have been designed following the Ethics Education programme Learning to Live Together, aimed at nurturing values in children and young people that enable them to fully develop as active global citizens.

Following the Jamboree’s moto, this experience has been about “Simply Peace...”

 
Article prepared by the Arigatou International/GNRC youth team at the Jamboree















To read the news article posted on the Jamboree’s blog, please visit: http://camp.simplyscouting.se/2011/08/06/peace-begins-with-youth/