Over 20,000 attending first-ever International Cultural Jamboree

The Sri Lanka Scout Association is hosting an International Cultural Jamboree under the theme ‘Culturally One Scout World,’ the first of its kind in world scouting, on 16, 17 and 18 July on virtual platforms.

The event is taking place in the form of presentations, live streaming, workshops and webinars. All scouts in Sri Lanka with their families and over 100 countries are participating. 

The activities planned are Cultural – folk dances, songs; Food – traditional food, demonstrations on preparation, lectures on good eating habits; National dresses – costumes, demonstration how to dress; Archaeology – historical places, artefacts, stamps and coins; History – of country and mother language. 

The Jamboree Arena features the opening ceremony; the Chief Guest is President and Chief Scout of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Guest of Honour is World Scout Committee Chairperson Craig Turpie. 

The ceremony featured two of the most famous singers and President’s Scouts Bathiya n’ Santhush who will perform at the event. There will be three Talent Shows and three Camp-Fires on each day of the Jamboree. The Scouts will have interactive live chat shows with world-renowned Scout leaders and other personalities. 

Seven webinars are being conducted during the Jamboree jointly with the United Nations Volunteers and UN Agencies on the Sustainable Development Goals under the Scout Better World Framework to train scouts to be active and useful citizens in their communities. 

The Games Hub of the Jamboree features games, quizzes and competitions 24/7 throughout the Jamboree where participants can join. Leading hotels in Sri Lanka are conducting live cookery demonstrations to show the rest of the world some authentic Sri Lankan dishes and tea. One of the main features of any Jamboree is making new friends and the opportunity is available for participants to engage with conversations with scouts from around 80 countries. 

Jamboree Advisor, Deputy Chief Commissioner and Member of the World Scout Committee Janaprith Fernando said: “This is the largest single event organised by the Sri Lanka Scout Association where over 20,000 scouts have registered. Through this Jamboree we can showcase Sri Lanka and what our scouts can do in a time such as this even with a pandemic to keep scouts around the world involved and interact with others whilst expanding their knowledge on the cultures and important factors f other countries. We want to ensure that this Jamboree will be a life-changing experience to all participants. We have taken all measures to ensure the online safety of all participants and every participant has to go through the Safe from Harm Policy of SL Scouts and give an undertaking to abide by same.”