Two Scouts from Clwyd have recently returned from the 16th World Scout Moot which took place in Portugal. The World Scout Moot is like the World Scout Jamboree but for young adults aged 18-24.
Aimee Curtis, Youth Lead for Clwyd, took part as a participant, and Erica Gilchrist, Cubs Team Leader with 1st Mynydd Isa, took part as an International Service Team (IST) member.
Erica said, “There were several reasons which led me to apply but the most important to me was the feeling that I desperately needed an adventure. I have spent such a long time parenting and working and making other people’s adventures happen and I was feeling that life and opportunities were passing me by because my focus was never on myself. I was not ‘ready for life’ because I was too busy helping other people to live theirs.”
Aimee’s photos
The Moot involved 9,000 Scouts from across the world, with 500 from the UK, and took place from 25th July to the 3rd August.
After an opening ceremony in Lisbon the participants travelled to separate places all over Portugal to take part in ‘paths’ with themes including society, politics, culture, arts, nature, adventure and spirituality. While they did this the IST undertook training and planned the activities that would happen when the participants got back for the second part of the Moot all together at the main camp.
Aimee’s path involved getting to know the local traditions and culture. They visited Porto cathedral, took part in a city game to see the main sites, held an international night. Her path also included a Zumba class, food workshop, getting to know each others’ Scouting traditions and how their sections work. Finally they went to a dairy farm, to see how cheese was made, enjoyed a port wine experience, and did service work at the local Scout centre.
Joining her on her path were Scouts from Benin, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, Chile, Brazil, Denmark, Switzerland, and Hong Kong.
Erica’s role was to support the paddle-board yoga sessions and scooping people out of the water if they can’t get back on their board.
She continued, “I realised for some participants this would be their first ever experience out on the water. Sometimes I take for granted access to the sea, lakes, rivers and a wide range of water sports at home but this would be something so new and exciting for some of the young people, which they will remember for the rest of their lives. It was quite a privilege to facilitate that.”
Erica’s photos
Aimee said, “What I most enjoyed was being around people from different cultures, camping with them, and sharing our cultures. I’ve taken away a greater understanding of Scouting around the world.”
If you’re aged 18-24 and would like to join Scouts as a Network member, you can do so via the Scouts website: scouts.org.uk/network
Read all about Erica’s adventures in her vlog.
