The magazine

for Explorer Scout Leaders

October/November 2010

scouts.org.uk/pol

Great ScotWhen Murray took

on the world

RAFTS OF ADVENTUREADVENTURE

International trips by extraordinary Explorers

FREEJoin-In-

Jamboreebooklet

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3scouts.org.uk/pol

Welcome to this special international issue of Explorer. As you will notice, this month sees the launch

of Join-in-Jamboree, a resource that enables Scouts around the country to take part in the excitement

leading up to the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden next year.

The Jamboree forms a central part of Scouting for many Explorers. As we have

seen in the last couple of issues, those that are lucky enough to be going are

already busy meeting their Units, raising money and generally getting very

excited. Even those Explorers that are not going to Sweden can play a central

part in the celebrations that surround the event. With a year’s worth of activity

ideas, Join-in-Jamboree is a great basis for an International themed programme

that will get all of your Explorers excited about the Jamboree. Learn about

different cultures, cook and eat myriad different foods and even communicate

with other Scouts from across the world!

Going globalIn this edition, we put a spotlight on Units that have undertaken once in a

lifetime trips across the world. Their stories highlight the amazing opportunities

that are available to Explorer Scouts and also show that they do not just have to

be a dream. If your Unit wants to jet off to discover new cultures and meet new

people, there are many opportunities to do so and plenty of realistic ways to

make it happen – be as creative as you can when it comes to ideas, fundraising

and build up activities!

Teenage globetrotters

Explorer Scout Support TeamThe Scout Association, Gilwell Park, Chingford, London E4 7QWTel: 0845 300 1818

ADVERTISINGRichard Ellacottrichard.ellacott@thinkpublishing.co.uk Tel: 020 8962 1258

Cover image: David Morris

WELCOME

GET ONLINE, GET MOREYou can read all six magazine supplements on the main Scout website at www.scouts.org.uk/magazine

Contents 4 News

Training updates, event reviews and bright sparks; plus, diversity dates for the months ahead

6 Journeys with purposeWe take a spin around Planet Earth to see where some intrepid Explorers have been blazing trails, reaching heights and mak-ing a difference. From Devon to Denmark, and from Cricklade to Bombita, these young adventur-ers have been making a mark on more than just their passports

Don’t missYour Join-in-Jamboree resource, free with this supplement

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4 Explorer October/November 2010

NewsA round-up of what’s happening in Explorer

Scouting. Send your stories, reports and

opinions to scouting.magazine@scouts.org.uk

Faith and awareness events for December/JanuaryDecember 1 World AIDS Day

2 International Day for the

Abolition of Slavery

2-9 Hanukah (Jewish)

3 International Day of Persons

with Disabilities

5 International Volunteer Day

7 Al-Hura New Year’s Day

(Muslim)

8 Bodhi Day - Rohatsu

(Buddhist)

10 International Human Rights

Day

16 Ashura (Muslim)

25 Christmas Day (Christian)

January 2011 1 New Year’s Day

4 World Braille Day

5 Birthday of Guru Gobindh

Singh (Sikh)

6 Epiphany (Christian)

7 Christmas (Orthodox

Christian)

16 World Religion Day (Baha’i)

19-21 Mahayana New Year

(Buddhist)

20 Tu B’shvat (Jewish)

27 Holocaust Memorial Day

Murray’s mintA 16-year-old Explorer Scout from Livingston represented the UK at the international Geography Olympiad at Taipei, Taiwan. We have the scoop

When West Lothian Explorer,

Murray, set off at the end of July,

he knew it would be the trip of

a lifetime. As part of Team UK, he

would join students from Salisbury

in the four person party of

geography wizards to pit his wits

against the best young geographers

from across the world.

The seven day competition

involved a mixture of written and

fieldwork tests that took them

across the city and further south

to central Taiwan. These included

the National Palace Museum,

a preserved earthquake site and

the elegant Taipei 101 tower.

In the end the team came 17th,

the best result ever attained by the

UK. Murray said: ‘My Scouting skills

undoubtedly helped me get selected

in the first place, as I completed map

working tasks at the selection in

North Yorkshire. The best bit by far

was meeting the other participants

who had come from 27 countries,

covering five continents.’

SPIRIT LEVELFor more help with getting spiritual development activities in your Unit Programme visit www.scouts.org.uk/faith

TRAINING MODULE UPDATEModule 16 (Nights Away) is changing. It will now

be known as Introduction to residential experiences. A full summary of the changes will

appear in the next issue of Explorer, but please talk

to your Training Adviser or local training team for

more information in the meantime.

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NEWS

ROVERWAY REGISTRATIONFor Explorer Scouts who will be aged 16-22 in 2012, Roverway offers the chance to travel to Finland for Europe’s

premier Scouting gathering. More information is likely in the first half of next year, but Contingent Leaders will be

recruited in the coming months. For more information, register at www.scouts.org.uk/finland2012

Non-stop adventureGilwell Park was the scorching setting for a 24-hour

Explorer Scout event, that barely paused for breath

while offering some 100 activities to over 2,500

participants.

Taking in trapezes, brushboarding and a massive

disco, the sound of hyperactive Explorers boomed

around the hundred acre site.

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6 Explorer October/November 2010

The Explorer Scout section is where the international dimension of Scouting can

come alive, with trips to all corners of the globe planned by Units up and

down the country. In our expeditions feature, we share the holiday albums

of a few intrepid ones, but this is a hats-off to all the leaders who offer countless

unforgettable experiences to 14-18 year-olds in Scouting

The world is not enough

ETHIOPIA | WEESU | 2009Explorer Scouts from Wimbledon had a

summer to remember in Ethiopia as they helped

rebuild a school and install toilet facilities

in the poorest part of Lalibela.

not enoughnot enough

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Money talksIt’s not only the mental preparation, equipment

planning and expedition skills that go into the mix

when plotting an overseas excursion, but the endless

fundraising efforts needed to get off the ground

are often staggering. Leaders planning these trips

raised a combined total of £340,000 to get everyone

to only these six destinations, much of which goes to

the countries involved.

The need to raise vast sums requires cooperation

and dedication from local communities, and can

be as beneficial for local Scouting as the trip itself.

By engaging local partners to get behind Scouting,

these relationships that form are of great value in

delivering the purpose of Scouting, to help young

people understand their role in their local, national

and international communities.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | CRICKLADE SAMPSON ESU | 2009

14 members of the Sampson Explorer Unit spent

two weeks in the village of Bombita working with

charity Community Partners Association on a

building project. The group raised £14,000, and had

to adjust to the culture. For Amy, 16, the friendliness to adjust to the culture. For Amy, 16, the friendliness

of the villagers was the defining feature of the trip:

‘The whole village had next to nothing in the

world, and yet were some of the friendliest, most

cheerful people we had ever met. It was a world

apart from even the closest of communities here in

the UK.’ On the last day, the group invested several

members on the concrete seating they had

constructed. And a delayed flight home meant the

final hours were spent relaxing on a Caribbean

beach, an unexpected bonus.

INTERNATIONAL EXPEDITIONS

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8

SWITZERLAND | K2 ESU, WREXHAM | 2010

Two weeks away for this Unit included a

whistlestop London tour and a week at Kandersteg

International Scout Centre, where activities

included mountain hiking, white water rafting

and fancy dress campfires. Leah, 16, said: ‘It was

great to see other people’s cultures and how they

embrace Scouting compared to us. The trip taught

me a lot about teamwork and looking out for

others, especially when white water rafting,

where everybody depended on each other.’

Danny enthused, ‘Staying in a mountain hut

while hiking in the Swiss mountains was out of

this world. The hike has inspired me to climb

higher to see even more.’

PERU | ANDOVER ESU | 2010Explorers from Andover District in Hampshire

made it to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of

Macchu Pichu, where they enjoyed the panoramic

views and hiked the classic Inca Trail. The team of

14 also helped out at a Peruvian school for disabled

children. Jack, 17, said ‘I met a 17-year-old with

cerebal palsy who’s moving to his own place in a

month, sings in a band and added me on Facebook.

It was an eye-opener for most of us, the experience

of a lifetime and something I will never forget.’

DENMARK | DEVON AND DORSET EXPLORERS | 2010

A group of five Devon Units and one from Dorset

became the Dooby Doos (due to their badge

design) and sent a contingent to SEE 20:10, a

Jamboree in Denmark. The chance arose after the

Devon Unit at the World Scout Jamboree were

pitched next to Danish Scouts and struck up a

strong friendship. Explorer Scout Daisy said, ‘In

no time, English and Danish Scouts were working

together cooking meals and sharing activities.

The best bit was the tremendous atmosphere at

the closing ceremony.’

Explorer October/November 2010

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INTERNATIONAL EXPEDITIONS

UGANDA | BOURNEMOUTH EXPLORERS | 2010

Nile 2010 was a project three years in the

planning. Twenty-six members of Bournemouth

Scouting, including members of the Avon Explorer

Unit raised over £100,000 to build a vocational

training centre in an extremely rural village

north of Jinja, Uganda.

The project focused on helping the local

community become environmentally sustainable

by purchasing a hydra-form brick making machine.

Compared to the traditional craft of making mud

bricks, which uses a large quantity of cement, the

new machine uses substantially less, enabling

interlocking bricks to be made and buildings

constructed quicker. The machine will benefit the

school with further income over the years to come

– a win-win situation.During the five week project, building progressed

with making and laying bricks, building the roof,

painting and fitting the windows and laying eight

tonnes of concrete by hand. Nine members also

undertook their Explorer Belt with eight Ugandan

Scouts, hiking over 100 miles, carrying out local

projects and sampling other forms of transport

including a boda-boda.At the end of the summer, sad farewells were said

as many new friendships had been forged. The

partnership between Scouts in Bournemouth and

Jinja will continue with the next expedition

planned for 2015. Here are a few recollections from

Explorer Scouts that went:

‘Nile 2010 was a really great experience, one

that I will never forget. Walking round Uganda

for my Explorer Belt was brilliant and a real for my Explorer Belt was brilliant and a real

opportunity to experience the country first-hand;

meeting tribal chiefs and learning how Ugandans

lead their lives was a real eye-opener. It certainly

changed my view on what is important. ,lead their lives was a real eye-opener. It certainly ,lead their lives was a real eye-opener. It certainly

Patrick, 17

‘You start to view even the insignificant things

at home in a different light and you realise how

much you take for granted. Though the people we

met are extremely poor, they seem happy with

what they have. Everyone is keen to talk to you and

help you. It was a life changing experience.,what they have. Everyone is keen to talk to you and ,what they have. Everyone is keen to talk to you and

Sam, 14

‘The expedition has been everything we

dreamed of; in fact more. The welcomes we

received, the fellowship of the Uganda Scouts and

local people, all the support we received from the

UK and what we achieved – we are all so grateful.,Mike Harley, Expedition Leader

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ex

All profi ts go back into Scouting. The Scout Association Registered Charity number 306101 (England and Wales) and SC038437 (Scotland).

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