SCOUTS from Solihull are joining 40,000 others taking part in the World Jamboree – opened by Bear Grylls.
The jamboree, an historic skills and adventure festival, is being held this year in West Virginia.
Solihull Scouts will meet 45,000 others from nearly every country in the world – sharing their skills while enjoying high adventure in a picturesque part of North America.
The jamboree offers young people the chance to learn new skills that they can use in other aspects of their life, the scouts say.
The World Scout Jamboree is the culmination of two years of work for the leaders, which has involved camps and team building events preparing the young people for living on a humid site.
Tom Batchelor, aged 16, from Solihull, said: “While at the Jamboree, it has been great to build on my German speaking skills as this is something I am learning at School.
“It has also been great to build my teamwork skills with people from different nationalities.
“Today, we get to walk all around the different country’s camp sites, and learn all about their different cultures while sharing also our culture and traditions with them.”
UK chief scout Bear Grylls who said: “World Scout Jamborees only happen every four years and tens of thousands of Scouts attend each one.
“They are incredible festivals of peace, friendship and adventure.
“Young people will make friends for life with people from over 150 countries, experience different food, language and culture while learning new skills. It will be the journey of a lifetime.
“The 2019 Jamboree, jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, is set to be one of the biggest and most exciting yet.
“The theme is ”Unlock a new world” – focusing especially on how we can create a sustainable world together.”
