News Article - World Scouting - Breaking Down Barriers

This catch phrase was the theme presented when more than 30 representatives of Scouts Australia travelled to Tunisia in Africa for the 37 th World Scout Conference from 5-9 September 2005. I was also very privileged to join Rod Abson , Mark Grima, Jason Thomson and Mike Dixon as an Australian youth representative at the 9 th World Scout Youth Forum held from 29 August to 1 September. Attending these events in Tunisia was my first international scouting event and the wonderful experiences and friendships I made during this time will be something I will always remember.

 

Over 120 youth representatives (aged between 18 and 26) from 61 countries gathered in Hammamet, Tunisia for the World Youth Forum. Themes at the forum centered on exploring issues and challenges that affect young people’s lives and how the Scouting movement can support young people facing these challenges. Representatives from the United Nation’s UNICEF were also present to hold discussions exploring issues surrounding UN’s Millennium Development Goals and how scouting can help make these goals a reality. For the first time ever, the World Scout Committee Youth Advisors were elected at the forum. All five Australian delegates were very proud to have Rod Abson elected as one of the six World Youth Advisors, of which he was later chosen as Chairman.

 

At the end of the youth forum we spent two days of touring many sites of Tunisia with other Youth Forum delegates, before the World Scout Conference began. The major focus of the conference was “Breaking down Barriers” both globally and locally within our own nations and regions. 124 countries were represented, with around 800 delegates participating. During the conference the new World Scout Committee was elected. The host countries for the 2011 World Jamboree and 2011 World Youth Forum and Conference were also decided. The Australian 2011 World Scout Events Bid Team did an outstanding job promoting Scouts Australia and the tourism opportunities our country has to offer and should be congratulated for their efforts. However Australia was unsuccessful, with Sweden being the most popular choice for the 2011 World Jamboree, and Brazil selected as the preferred venue for the 2011 World Youth Forum and Conference.

 

One of the highlights of the conference was visiting the ancient Roman Coliseum in El Jem, where an afternoon discussion session was held, followed by an evening cultural performance in the main arena.

 

I was also fortunate to have had the opportunity to stay on in Tunisia after the closing of the Conference to experience two days of touring the southern part of the country. The best memory would have to be the visit to the Sahara Desert and go on a camel trek at sunset.

 

As a young person I realised just how lucky I am to be part of Scouts Australia, where youth involvement in leadership and decision making is common across all levels of our organisation. Of the 124 countries represented at the Conference, only 61 of those countries were able to send a youth representative to the World Youth Forum. I believe Scouts Australia is certainly one of the leading members of WOSM when it comes to the level of youth involvement in all areas of the scouting movement and this is something we should all be proud of.

 

For myself personally, I think one of the most important lessons I learnt was that regardless of what country we were from, or what language we spoke, we all had something in common- and that was that we were all members of the one global organisation: Scouting, and we were all there to make some positive differences in our world. The slogan for the 2007 World Scouting Centenary is “One World, One Promise” and I think these simple words truly encapsulate my experiences in Tunisia.

 

Had someone suggested 18 months ago that I would have been given the opportunity to travel overseas and experience Scouting at an international level I would never have believed them. However, this dream has now become reality. This is the essence of what makes Scouting so unique- providing these sorts of opportunities to myself and many other members. Now having returned home I hope to make the most of my final 18 months on the National Scout Youth Council in my current role as Deputy Chair. I hope to take into account the valuable knowledge I learnt and the experience I gained at the youth forum and conference and embrace some new challenges to achieve my goal of making a positive difference in my youth organisation- Scouts Australia.