The 2011 Romanian National Scout Jamboree reached out!

The World Scout Foundation through the World Scout Fund USA, Inc. supported partnerships between Scouts and the local communities during the National Scout Jamboree in Romania in 2011.

Introduction

15 local projects, involving over 1'000 Scouts and 250 young people from the local communities, were organised as part of RoJAM – the 5th National Scout Jamboree of Romanian Scouts. The aim of this set of projects was to showcase the importance of the partnership between Scouts and the local communities and to prove the real influence that a small number of determined individuals can have in the
society.

The projects covered a broad area, ranging from environmental to cultural and from social to sports. Besides the obvious educational benefits that the projects vrough to the participants themselves. the preparatory work involving local authorities and local population in the villages where the projects were organised has proven an excellent management school for the young people involved in defining and running the projects. The third important outcome sought by the organisers was the multiplication effect, in which all patrols involved were asked to reflect and to start “cloning” the examples of local projects they have experienced at RoJAM within their own communities, back home. This will ensure a national movement of community-involvement projects to be organised in the near future, based on the experience of RoJAM.

Projects by young people, with young people and for young people.

The entire project management team was composed of young people, with an average age of just over 24 years. This opportunity meant a lot for their empowerment, as they had to deal with general project management issues like planning or budgeting but also with inter-personal relations and dealing with local authorities. The evaluation of the team shows clearly that having full responsibility for such
a complex enterprise is the best tool for empowering youth and “expose” them to issues like decision-making, team management and intergenerational dialogue.

On the participants side it was also felt that dealing with young people meant a better involvement in the project, a more personal approach and contributed to the feeling that this is not just another assignment supervised by adults but a conscious decision to get involved on the part of young people themselves. The feedback received from the young people in the community is the most important one, as it is the real partnership between Scouts and non-Scouts that added value to this aspect of the event. Besides the concrete outcomes that the projects left behind it is facts like the new Scout troop in Saliste (with over 30 active members long after the Jamboree was over) and letters we got from young non-Scouts that felt something has changed after these projects in the way they see their role in society that made the whole effort worthwhile.

Conclusion

The “Calfe” (literally translated as “Apprentices”) projects in the rural area of Marginimea Sibiului was one element of the programme for the 5th National Romanian Scout Jamboree, a historical event for the Romanian Scout Association (the biggest gathering of Scouts since its reestablishment and the first Jamboree after 75 years). It was also a huge showcase for what real Scouting is actually about, a proof of the value of non-formal education!

As a result, Scouting benefitted from media coverage unseen before and attracted an important interest from the political, social and business life. This soon has concretized with new partnerships signed with various government agencies, the extraordinary project “A different Kind of School – in Scouting’s Spirit” aiming to introduce a zest of Scouting to more than 1 million pupils and with the biggest promotional campaign for volunteering and non-formal education ever.

None of this would have been possible without the support of many friends of Scouting in Romania. The costs for mounting such a large-scale and complex event are huge and the income that could be generated from participation fees in Romanian socio-economic realities is still far from being enough for the quality and the excellence that the Jamboree was aiming for.

We are thankful to all donors and supporters that have helped us making the event possible and which allowed over 1’000 young people to experience real involvement.

A special thank you goes to the World Scout Foundation (World Scout Fund USA Inc), which has gracefully financed the vast majority of the work in the local projects.