Supporting young people from the UK to have the experience of a lifetime through attending the 25 World Scout Jamboree in Korea, 2023

My name is Gideon Elsdon, and I am an Scout leader from Southgate, Greater London North who has been selected to be part of the UK Contingent to the 25 World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) taking place in the summer of 2023 in SaeManGeum, Korea. 

I will be attending as a member of the International Service Team (IST), which is a team of approx. 8,000 adults from across the world who help to provide the experience of a lifetime to 50,000 young people. The role of an IST member can be anything and everything that is needed to run an event the size of a small temporary town for 2 weeks – anything from food distribution, security, media, stage management, site maintenance (including the toilets), to instructors on activities for the young people, in water sports, climbing, crafts, global development and faith and beliefs. The days can be long and exhausting, but also provide an amazing opportunity to work with other adults from around the world, to ensure our young people return from the Jamboree full of new life skills and amazing memories.

This international experience is like no other. It provides an opportunity for our young people to develop skills for life in planning, independence, fundraising, motivating others, empathy, teamwork, travelling and being active global citizens. Together, we will take part in 10 days of an international camp which will explore the world we live in and how it is changing, and how we can play our part in protecting it. We will try new activities from sports, craft, science and technology, as well as exploring our personal beliefs, and understanding those of our fellow global citizens. We are also going to spend a few days finding out more about Korean culture and way of life, through exploring their capital city of Seoul. 

My first challenge however is to raise funds towards the £2750 fee, that I need to pay to attend the 25 WSJ (this covers the event fee, travel, accommodation, food, kit, insurance, etc.), whilst we are away for two and half weeks. To raise the fee, I have been / I am planning to bring a slice of Korean culture here to London through cooking a range of Korean food from Bibimbap, Japchae, Rabokki and more and selling these dishes at one-off takeaway nights highlighting one particular Korean dish each time. As well as taking on the southern 50 challenge and walking 50 miles. 

For more information check out my linktr.ee below 

https://linktr.ee/wsj25ist