Building an NSO Contingent to the 24th World Scout Jamboree – Part One

1 – Commit as a National Scout Organization to send a Jamboree Contingent

The first step in preparing for the 24th World Scout Jamboree is to decide, as a National Scout Organization (NSO), to send a contingent.   NSOs should have returned their Appointment of Head of Contingent Form and Contingent Reservation forms to the office of the 24th World Scout Jamboree.  These forms were in New World News Bulletins #1 and #2 and are included with this edition for your convenience. Here are the due dates for these forms:

Head of Contingent  form due by the end of March 2017

Contingent Registration form due no later than the end of December 2017

Participants, unit leaders, and the Contingent Management Team (CMT) will need to be registered to attend the Jamboree as part of a national contingent.  The Jamboree Organization can only accept registrations from NSOs.  Countries that have several National Scout Associations will need to coordinate their registration and register as one Contingent and appoint one Head of Contingent. Similarly, each NSO will need to approve any International Service Team (IST) applications before they can be finally considered and acted upon by the Jamboree Organizing Committee.

The World Scout Jamboree will require considerable commitment by the NSOs in terms of recruiting, approval of participants, raising money, and travel.  These are just a few of the necessities of planning.

Each NSO, the Head of Contingent, and the Contingent Management Team will be expected to accept full responsibility for its members participating in the 24th World Scout Jamboree while traveling to and from, and while attending programs at the Summit Bechtel Reserve–the site of the 24th World Scout Jamboree

2 – Appoint a Head of Contingent and send in the form

The Head of Contingent is an important appointment since this person will be responsible for ensuring a safe, worthwhile and enjoyable Jamboree experience for your contingent. Different NSOs have different ways of selecting their Head of Contingent, but we encourage all NSOs to appoint someone who is a proven leader with broad Scouting experience in an international context.  This individual should be prepared to dedicate the time necessary for this role. Once the NSO has appointed a Head of Contingent, please inform the Jamboree Office by completing and sending in the Head of Contingent Registration Form (Appendix 1 of Bulletin # 1– also attached to this Bulletin).

The Appointment of Head of Contingent Form is due at the end of March, 2017

The Head of Contingent and their Contingent Management Team accept full responsibility for the members of their contingent.

The Office of the 24th World Scout Jamboree may, at its discretion, communicate with NSOs as well as with the Head of Contingent.

3 – Complete and send in Contingent Reservation form

The next step is to complete and send in the Contingent Reservation form (Appendix 2 of Bulletin# 1–also attached to this Bulletin). This form is sent to the office of the 24th World Scout Jamboree and informs us that your NSO is interested in attending the Jamboree.  It also gives us a preliminary requested number of participants (including unit leaders and CMTs) and International Service Team (ISTs) from your NSO. This will help us with the planning of the Jamboree.

At this time, the Organizing Committee is projecting expected attendance of 36,000 participants and 9,000 ISTs.  Under the WOSM Guidelines, each non-host NSO is limited to a maximum number of participants and IST staff, as follows:

• A non-host Contingent may constitute no more than 10% of the maximum number of participants approved by the World Scout Committee.  That maximum number of participants per Contingent is presently set at 3,600 participants
• No more than 10% of the total planned ISTs should be drawn from any one country other than the host country.  That maximum number of ISTs per Contingent is presently set at 900.

Once the Organizing Committee has received the Contingent Reservation form for each NSO, we will work with each NSO and Head of Contingent to allocate available space for participants and ISTs.  As you would expect, this will be an ongoing process over the next several years, and additional allocations may be available at some future period, depending upon demand and allocation requests from other NSOs

Please note that 9 participants with 1 Leader will form a patrol, and 4 patrols will form a Unit. (i.e., a Unit consists of 36 Scouts and 4 Unit Leaders).

The Contingent Reservation form is due the end of December 2017, though an earlier submission will greatly aid the Organizing Committee in managing allocations

4 – Build a Contingent Management Team

Organizing and running a successful Jamboree Contingent is a substantial responsibility. We recommend each Contingent recruit a Contingent Management Team (CMT). The CMT is a group of leaders with knowledge and experience in fiscal management, international travel, working with young people and international Scouting. The CMT will also be an ideal way to develop skills in the next generation of leaders for your NSO. The number of CMT members has a limit based on the number of participants of the contingent. Please refer to the table in Bulletin #1 (Contingent Management Team (CMT) on P.4)

5 – Build a budget and determine the Jamboree fee for your Contingent

The next stage is for the NSO to build the budget for your contingent. In addition to the Jamboree fee charged by the 24th World Scout Jamboree Organization, you will need to plan for many other items.

• Budget the number of participants, Unit Leaders, IST members and CMT members you will recruit to your contingent.
• Refer to the Jamboree fee for your contingent.  (See Bulletin #1 for the chart on fees by WOMS category of NSO.)
• Calculate other costs that could include NSO contingent insignia, travel, travel insurance, attendance at meetings and shipping of equipment.  Remember to include in your budget the travel expenses incurred for attendance at the optional Study Program, and/or Head of Contingent Meeting(s).  As noted in Bulletin #1, use of the Summit Model, such that participants only need to bring personal gear and a sleeping bag, should materially ease the NSOs logistical and shipping demands.

For NSOs that may request financial support, it may be available through the solidarity program. Additional details on the 24th World Scout Jamboree solidarity program will be in in future Bulletins

6 – Make an early payment to receive the discounted fee

Details on these terms can be found in the Bulletin #1 edition of the New World News.  We encourage you to submit your registration form earlier than the due date of December 31, 2017 so we can start working on the allocation process.  You do not need to make payment of the deposit when you initially submit your form–the deposit simply needs to be received on behalf of your NSO by December 31, 2017, to take advantage of the discount.

Remember that early deposits qualify for the discount fee and are due to the office of the 24th World Scout Jamboree no later than December 31, 2017.

7 – Start promoting the Jamboree locally

Schedule time for promoting the Jamboree throughout your NSO to generate interest from Scouts, Leaders and ISTs. A Branding Style Guide will be available to NSOs in early 2017, as will a substantially enhanced website with a special suite of support materials available for NSOs.  These materials will be available as a download from the site with local printing options and space for local customization.  Look for additional information on our new website, http://2019wsj.org/

Additional details will also be in upcoming Bulletins.

8 – Make Plans to attend the Study Visits and one or more Heads of Contingent Meetings

Between now and 2019, there will be three opportunities to visit the Jamboree site at the Summit Bechtel Reserve and to meet the Jamboree Organizing Committee. These are a great opportunity to see the site and address your questions about the Jamboree. We look forward to showing you this incredible site and addressing your questions and any concerns.

Opportunities to visit the Summit Bechtel Reserve include:

• The Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree in July 2017
• The first Head of Contingent Visit in April 2018
• The second Head of Contingent Visit in Spring 2019

We recommend that all contingents send representatives to at least one of these visits.

9 – Plan to prepare your contingent for a rewarding Jamboree experience

The NSO, Head of Contingent, and CMT will need to consider how best to prepare your participants, adult leaders, and ISTs who will be attending from your country.  This will include practical items such as helping them gather the personal equipment appropriate to the Summit Bechtel Reserve camping experience. Keep in mind the weather, which may feature cool nights and a chance of rain, and the need to walk distances on hilly terrain so that good shoes are a must.  Consider holding local training camps so youth and adults can get to know each before the trip while also improving their camping skills.   We want everyone to stay safe and healthy for the twelve days of the Jamboree experience.

Equally important is that everyone arrives at the Jamboree site prepared for the multi-cultural nature of a Jamboree.   The program for the 24th World Scout Jamboree will be designed to enhance the opportunities for the youth of the world to join together in an environment that embraces and celebrates each other’s culture.  As with past World Scout Jamborees, we want our participants to leave the site with an appreciation that what makes us different also draws us together as part of the world Scouting community.  Learning about the cultures of North America, as our co-hosts, is an important part of the Jamboree experience as is appreciating and respecting the cultures of the unit camped next to you and the unit in the next subcamp, too.  By its very nature, some aspects of this multi-cultural experience can be easily misunderstood by different people, so everyone will need to understand how to act in this unique environment.  Therefore, it is critical that everyone be prepared for the wide variety of customs, behaviors, and attitudes of their new friends.  The Jamboree Organizing Committee will provide materials in advance of the Jamboree to assist you in this effort. We are developing the program to include multi-cultural experiences, and to embrace mutual understanding and respect as a very important part of the 24th World Scout Jamboree experience.

Part Two

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