Category Archives: Scouts and scouting

Scout jamboree in South Korea closes with regrets and K-pop concert

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Ceremony at Seoul’s World Cup stadium wraps up event beset by heatwave, unsanitary conditions and threat of typhoon

The 25th World Scout Jamboree has concluded with a concert in Seoul after a tumultuous 11-day journey across South Korea that was marred by a heatwave, unsanitary conditions and an evacuation owing to a typhoon threat.

“The last few days have not been easy, to say the least,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, the secretary general of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement during the closing ceremony on Friday at Seoul’s World Cup stadium.

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‘Worst nightmare’: South Korea mulls disastrous Scout jamboree

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Youngsters faced a heatwave, flooded tents, sewage spills and an expensive evacuation – but concerns were raised before the event even began

Media outlets in South Korea have labelled its hosting of the World Scout Jamboree a “national disgrace”, a “survival game”, and a “worst nightmare”. Public outcry has intensified online and strangers are approaching scouts on the streets, apologising on behalf of their country and handing out gifts.

South Korea has successfully hosted large events such as the Fifa World Cup and Winter Olympics, but the mismanagement of the global scouting event, which struggled with heat and hygiene and eventually had to be evacuated as a typhoon approached, has left many wondering: where did it all go wrong?

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Wednesday briefing: What went wrong at South Korea’s World Scout Jamboree?

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In today’s newsletter: As thousands of scouts are evacuated from their quadrennial global get-together, the host nation’s handling of the event is in the spotlight

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Good morning. Imagine you are going on a school trip, but it’s with thousands of other schools, and the trip is to Fyre festival, and the guys from Trainspotting are taking care of the sanitation. Oh, and there’s an enormous hurricane on its way.

That may sum up what 4,500 British scouts have felt this week, after their trip of a lifetime to the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea turned into a bad comedy marked by successive calamities, natural and human-made, that yesterday culminated in the mass evacuation of all 43,000 young people.

Northern Ireland | A “monumental” data breach has exposed the names and rank of every serving Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer. A spreadsheet was mistakenly published online for up to three hours in response to a freedom of information request. The Police Federation for Northern Ireland said it was a “breach of monumental proportions”.

Security | The data of millions of voters was accessible to hackers in a cyber-attack by “hostile actors” discovered almost a year ago, the Electoral Commission has admitted. The watchdog apologised for the security breach in which the names and addresses of millions of voters were accessible to hackers as far back as 2021.

Health | Millions of people under the age of 65 in England will be denied flu and Covid jabs this winter despite one of the government’s top public health officials warning that coronavirus has not “gone away”.

Conservatives | The Home Office spent more than £1,500 of public money painting over cartoon murals that were meant to welcome children to a controversial asylum reception centre, it can be revealed.

France | Five Marseille police officers have been detained for questioning over the death of a 27-year-old man during rioting in the French city on 1 July. The public prosecutor suggested it was “probable” Mohamed Bendriss died after “a violent shock to the thorax caused by a ‘flash-ball’ type projectile”, a controversial police weapon, that caused him to go into cardiac arrest.

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Thousands of scouts evacuated from world jamboree in South Korea as storm nears

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Government deploys 1,000 buses to move young people but insists programmes will continue elsewhere

Tens of thousands of scouts began arriving at university dormitories, training centres and hotels around Seoul and other inland cities on Tuesday afternoon as the South Korean government evacuated attenders at the World Scout Jamboree before a tropical storm.

More than 1,000 buses are being deployed to move 37,000 scouts – mostly teenagers visiting from 156 countries – from the site in the south-western county of Buan.

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South Korea to evacuate scout jamboree as typhoon looms

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Site has been plagued by issues including heatwave that left hundreds ill last week

All participants at this year’s World Scout Jamboree in South Korea will be evacuated from the campsite before the scheduled end date of 12 August due to a typhoon that is expected to make landfall over the Korean peninsula in the coming days, in the latest blow to the event.

The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) said it had received confirmation from the South Korean government that, due to the expected impact of Typhoon Khanun, an early departure would be planned for all participants at the global youth event in the south-western county of Buan.

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UK Scouts says £1m cost of relocating jamboree will affect its work for years

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Head of Scout Association says event in South Korea had been poorly organised even before threat of Typhoon Khanun

The £1m cost of relocating the 4,500-strong UK contingent at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea will affect the work of the Scout Association for as much as five years, the organisation’s boss has said.

Matt Hyde, the UK Scouts chief executive, said the association had been forced to dip into its reserves after the event’s organisers decided to clear the campsite five days early because of an incoming typhoon that is expected to make landfall over the Korean peninsula in the coming days.

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Mother of UK scout tells of ‘unbearable’ conditions at South Korea jamboree

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Woman says 16-year-old son was exhausted from camping in temperatures of up to 35C and is now at hotel in Seoul

A mother has spoken out about the “unbearable” conditions her son experienced at the World Scout Jamboree campsite in South Korea, after temperatures reached 35C (95F) and organisers refused to end the event early.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said her 16-year-old son had been removed from the site by the UK Scout Association on Saturday because of the heatwave and was sleeping on the floor of a “cramped” hotel room near Seoul airport with three other scouts.

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US and UK scouts pull out of world jamboree campsite due to extreme heat

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Thousands of scouts to be removed from site after hundreds of heat-related illnesses at event in South Korea

Thousands of UK and US scouts attending the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea are being removed from the official campsite in the south-western county of Buan amid a suffocating heatwave.

The event, which started this week, has drawn 43,000 young scouts from 158 countries, with the UK contingent the largest at 4,500.

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South Korea spends millions to rescue World Scout Jamboree amid scorching heatwave

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President says ‘unlimited’ airconditioned buses will be provided and food will be improved, after hundreds fall ill in heat amid soaring temperatures

South Korea has pumped millions into improving conditions at a global Scouts gathering it is hosting amid a suffocating heatwave, with president Yoon Suk Yeol ordering “unlimited” air-conditioned buses and cold-water trucks and hundreds more sanitary and medical staff being brought in.

The World Scout Jamboree, which kicked off on 8.8 sq km of unsheltered tidelands in the south-western county of Buan on Tuesday, has seen hundreds needing treatment for heat-related ailments. On Thursday, 138 people visited clinics and hospitals with heat-related illnesses, bringing the total tally to over 700.

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Heatwave sees hundreds fall ill at World Scout Jamboree in South Korea

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At least 400 require treatment for heat-related symptoms on first day of global event attracting more than 40,000 young people from 158 countries

Hundreds of attendees at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea have fallen ill as the country grapples with an extended heatwave affecting large swathes of the country.

The event, which started earlier this week, has drawn 43,000 young Scouts from 158 countries this year. By the end of the first day, Tuesday, officials had counted at least 400 patients who needed treatment for heat-related symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and exhaustion. On Wednesday, a further 207 heat-related cases emerged.

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Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donates $84.5m to Girl Scouts

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Ex-wife of Amazon founder continues to ‘empty the safe’ after 2019 divorce that netted her $38bn

The Girl Scouts has received the largest monetary donation in its history, from novelist and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who was once married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

An announcement from the Girl Scouts of the USA on Tuesday thanked Scott for her gift of $84.5m, which the organization pledged to use toward helping its recovery from various shutdowns associated with controlling the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

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More than 250 convicted of child sexual abuse in UK and Ireland while in Scout movement

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Exclusive: Analysis raises questions about the organisation’s safeguarding procedures

More than 250 people in the UK and Ireland have been convicted of child sexual abuse offences committed while they were Scout leaders or in other positions of responsibility within the Scout movement, according to analysis that raises questions about the organisation’s safeguarding procedures.

For decades, the Scout movement has been promoted as offering the chance to experience adventures and gain life skills but a review of offenders shows that for scores of children it has led to abuse at the hands of someone entrusted with their welfare.

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