Saudi Prince Visits the 23rd World Scout Jamboree

The 23rd World Scout Jamboree was honoured by the visit of a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family. HRH Prince Bandr bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, came to have an insight into the activities taking place at the Jamboree. HRH took some time to tour the Better World Tent, the Global Development Village and other areas of the Jamboree, accompanied by key officials of the World Scout Foundation and the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

At the Better World Tent, the Prince stopped briefly at the Global Citizen station for an interview with three Scouts, Alice Preece from the United Kingdom, Farouk Abdallah from Algeria, and Andrea Cossu from France, who are part of the Young Correspondents Programme. Here is the account written by Alice. 

"Together with two other Scouts, Farouk and Andrea, the three of us asked the Prince for his thoughts about the Messengers of Peace Programme and the way forward, the impact the Jamboree will have on local communities around the world, and how Scouts could continue to promote positive dialogue and understanding after the Jamboree.

HRH said he was confident that the Messengers of Peace programme would continue to grow and thrive, and that he hopes it would expand to many more countries, especially in the southern part of the world so that the number of people the programme is supporting would be greater all over the world.

On the impact the Jamboree would have on local people, the Prince thought that the local communities would notice positive differences across all areas of life where Scouts are. HRH also said that the main advantage of the Jamboree is that besides having a positive impact on tourism, it also unites nations and brings young people together, creating links so that small communities can become more connected with the rest of the world.

The Prince said that it was very important to encourage young people to continue to share the positive impact the Jamboree has had on their understanding of the world. He encouraged the Scouts to continue to keep the Spirit of the Jamboree alive even when they are back home as it impacts not only the people around them but the whole environment.

Overall, the Prince was very enthusiastic about Scouting and recognised that Scouting values can really change our world for the better.

The World Scout Jamboree is indeed an excellent opportunity to see just how wide our Scout family extends; no matter what race or culture we are, we are still united through Scouting."

The 23rd World Scout Jamboree by the World Organization of the Scout Movement is hosted by the Scout Association of Japan. More than 33,000 Scouts from about 150 countries from around the world are participating in the Jamboree, that is happening at Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, Japan.