So you say you want to change the world?

As kids just about everyone tells themselves that one day they will “Change the world.” As kids grow up many will lose that vision for themselves, but a lucky few will keep that vision as a burning passion inside of them for the rest of their lives.

Hi everyone! My name is Gerry Souser and I am honored to be one of the BSA Youth Representatives to the World Youth Forum and World Scout Conference. I am from Alexandria, Virginia and am a member of the National Capital Area Council. I am currently attending Northern Virginia Community College and am studying Social Studies and am planning to transfer to a Leadership Studies Major. I began my scouting career as a Tiger Cub in 2001 and went on to earn my Eagle in 2009. After earning Eagle at a relatively young age I was quickly looking for a new challenge. Venturing was right there to fill the void. I earned my Venturing Silver in 2010 in doing so found a new passion… leadership.  I got involved in starting my Councils Venturing Officers Association where local ventures could come together to share ideas and experiences as well as take part in events. I also attended the National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) and the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE). After serving on two NAYLE staffs and on the National Venturing Cabinet as a Vice President I thought that my scouting career was just about over until I would have kids of my own in the program.  I am happy to say that I was wrong.

While on NAYLE staff in the summer of 2013 I got to learn a lot about international scouting from the Course Director Armando Agurrie. To this point my only international scouting experience had been visiting the World Jamboree in London in 2007. Mr. Armando told me about the Messengers of Peace program. Messengers of Peace (MOP) was founded in 2011 by WOSM to encourage scouts around the world to work together to bring peace through working together on projects. These projects could be anything under the sun. They can be anything from community development, to working for human rights issues, to service, to training. Upon completion of a project, scouts can log their efforts into scout.org where they can share their accomplishments with other scouts from around the world. To date over 582 million service hours have been logged by Messengers of Peace.

A few weeks after a mountaintop experience at NAYLE I received a phone call from Mr. Armando asking me to help with a new project called the Interamerican Leadership Training (ILT). I was ecstatic to say yes. Baden Powell once said that "Every Boy Deserves a Trained Leader." That quote would be at the heart of ILTs mission. The hope of this training was to bring together scouts from across the Interamerican Region (IAR) for a week of training, networking, and sharing of best practices. A project like this had never been attempted before. With 34 countries in the IAR this would prove to be a daunting challenge. ILT had been in the works for almost three years after a recommendation to Messengers of Peace from Guatemala indicated the growing need for such an event if the Region was going to successfully carry out Baden Powell’s vision. Funding was secured through Messengers of Peace (a 10 year grant for ILT), the United States Fund for International Scouting, and the William “Bill” Hillcourt Foundation.  A staff was put together with some of BSA’s top youth trainers and with consultants from several other IAR NSO’s. Now all that was needed was participants….

When I first heard about ILT the thought was that if there were 20-30 participants from 10-15 different countries the first course would be a great success. In December of 2013 at the first Interamerican Leadership Training there were 67 participants from 33 of the 34 countries in the Interamerican Region! The week was a much bigger success then was ever imagined. It was a week full of learning, sharing, networking, planning, fun, and inspiration! I feel that is safe to say that every single person who left camp on January 1^st was changed. But they were more than changed. They were motivated to share that change with the world through scouting and through their NSOs.

But the story of the Pilot ILT is far from over. As scouts went home, amazing things started to happen. Schools were being built, national trainings were being written and run for the first time, and communities were being changed. But even more than that came out of ILT. An international dialogue had been established. During the course participants were formed into teams for the week. Little did I know how close these teams would become over such a short time and how strong the relationships would stay once everyone had returned home. Far beyond any pre-course expectations a few teams decided to work across borders, languages, and cultures to spread the message of peace. From the Orange Team came Trees for the World, a project for one scout to plant one tree worldwide on April 27^th. On that day it was reported that over 8,000 scouts from 13 countries in 5 Scout Regions planted over 36,000 trees! To date over 13,000 scouts from 18 countries have planted over 50,000 trees and they’re not done yet! The project will happen again on September 27^th of this year. The White Team is currently carrying out their Books for All project with the goal of developing a book donation program as well as strategies for promoting good reading habits worldwide.  They are well on their way.

Scouting gives us all the opportunity to learn, grow, and share. Through all of this I believe that we are changed so that we may change the world. So you say you want to change the world? Scouting is doing just that! I cannot wait to land in Ljubljana in just three days as I continue to learn, to grow, to share, and to see what the world has in store in its future.

A Rowdy, Boisterous Gathering

One aspect of the WSYF and WSC is educating members of WOSM about what is happening in Scouting around the globe.  From local programs to regional events, Scouts will have the opportunity to learn about the different facets of our organization and how the types of events other groups hold advance our movement.  One of the most anticipated events is the World Scout Jamboree, and in 2019 the 24th World Scout Jamboree will be held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.  While in Slovenia, we’ll be talking with others about the opportunities we’ll have in 2019 when we meet at SBR.

My name is David Joyner, and my inclusion with the BSA’s delegation to the WSC is largely due to my work with the planning team for the 2019 World Jamboree.  I joined Cub Scouts in first grade and advanced through the program to become an Eagle Scout in 2009.  Along the way I’ve had many Scouting opportunities, from staffing my council’s summer camp to attending the BSA’s past two Sustainability Summits.  My favorite part of being a Boy Scout has always been the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society.  The experiences I’ve had with the OA have made me a better Scout, leader, and person.

In 2012 I was asked to join the youth planning team for the 24th World Scout Jamboree.  The group includes three members of the BSA, three from the Scout Association of Mexico, and three from Scouts Canada.  The nine of us have been advising the Scouters working on the event’s preparations by providing input on what young people want to get out of a World Jamboree.  The 2019 WSJ is the first to be hosted by a continent rather than a single country; Canada, Mexico, and the United States have been working together for the past several years to secure the bid and now plan the Jamboree.

World Jamborees have been a part of Scouting since 1920.  As the movement spread around the world, leaders like Lord Baden Powell saw the need to bring young people together to experience Scouting together and learn more about one another’s programs.  Just as each unit in the BSA abides by the organization’s structural and policy set-up but has its own traditions, National Scouting Organizations each follow the principles and guidelines of WOSM, yet maintain their own customs.  The idea to bring these customs together through the spirit of Scouting led to the birth of the World Jamboree, and has continued approximately every four years.  When BP was asked what the word "Jamboree" meant, he described it as, "A rowdy, boisterous gathering."  WSJs have been held all around the world, though Africa is the only continent yet to host the event.

The next World Scout Jamboree will be hosted by the Scout Association of Japan.  Scouts will gather in Kirarahama, Japan from July 28 – August 8 2015.  The Boy Scouts of America is already accepting applications to attend.

World Jamborees are one of the many ways to get involved with World Scouting.  Having only become involved with international programs in 2012, I encourage anyone in the BSA to look into World Scouting immediately.  Working with the 2019 planning team has been one of my favorite Scouting experiences and makes me wish I had gotten involved on an international level even sooner!  I can’t wait to see the other members of the planning team – Luis, Grecia, and Diana from Mexico, as well as Keegan from Canada – who are attending the WSYF and WSC, and I’m excited to make new friends from across the globe.

“Leave this world a little better than you found it” Lord Baden-Powell

It’s hard to believe that in a matter of two weeks we will be flying halfway around the world to get define what scouting is on a global scale. Needless to say I am so excited to go back to Europe on another scouting adventure.

My name is James Michael Britt, but all of my friends call me Bear. I am an Eagle Scout and Silver Award recipient from Indian Nations Council in Tulsa Oklahoma. I have held many positions in the national Boy Scouts of America (BSA) program and trained future leaders of the region as a staff member of the Inter-American Leadership Training course that was designed to teach Scouts from Canada to the Cape Horn to be the best leaders the world has to offer. Currently I am an Electrical Engineering Major and Cheerleader at Oral Roberts University.

I have been very blessed in my scouting adventures. I have been all over the world, but one of my fondest memories will always be attending Kandersteg International Scout Center (KISC). Kandersteg is the World Centre for the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The Centre began in 1923 with Lord Baden-Powell, who, after the first World Scout Jamboree, had a dream about a place where all Scouts from all over the world could meet: the Permanent Mini Jamboree.

In 2012 I went to KISC with a contingent from the Sam Houston Area Council, that changed my life forever. It was a two week excursion that can be best described as absolute rigid flexibility. Scouting programs in the United States usually offer an assortment of class based activities. Unlike scouting programs and camps in the United States, Kandersteg gives you a list of options and a timetable, and will let you build your own experience. While I was there I got to go whitewater rafting, climb a six level copes course, see some of the most beautiful places in Europe and experience a wide variety of cultures.  However, the pinnacle of the trip was international night. As with most WOSM activities there was a night that was set apart as an international exchange. It was a night full of fun and fellowship, and for a very brief  two hours all national borders were blurred. We were one group of scouts that wanted nothing more than to do a very simple task, change our world for the betterment of humanity.

Now I hope you are wondering, “How does this help me?” Well, it is my pleasure to tell you that the people that I was privileged to go to Kandersteg with will be going again in the summer of  2015, and I would love to answer any questions about how you might get involved with such an exceptional group of scouts.

It is truly awe inspiring to see scouts from all over the world come together under one purple and white fleur-de-lis. I am so excited to be one of five scouts representing the United States, and I hope that, together we can leave this world a little better than we found it.

I was eight and in it for the camping, I’m twenty now and in it for World Scouting

 I remember rushing home after school in September of 2001 after Pack 1465 recruiters joined us for lunch at Holmsley Elementary and they somehow convinced my eight year old self that I needed to be in scouting and now, years later, I am 20 years old and still active with the Boy Scouts of America.

Howdy, my name is Gus Sanchez, I am an Eagle Scout from Troop 901 in the Big Cypress District of the Sam Houston Area Council. I graduated from Langham Creek High School in 2012 and currently a junior at Texas A&M University, majoring in Animal Science with an International Development in Agriculture minor. Throughout high school I was involved in various extracurricular activities, which turned into a habit that carried into my college career. In the future I hope to work with International Agriculture policy and face one of the today's growing issues; ending world hunger. Besides my passion for agriculture, scouting is another passion that seemed to find its way back into my life. Growing up I was an active scout up to the age of 18 serving in many leadership roles at the local troop level from Patrol Leader and Quartermaster to serving as my troop’s Senior Patrol Leader several times. I could recite several Order of the Arrow ceremonies in my sleep and participated in many OA events. After obtaining my Eagle in 2011 I thought that chapter in my life was closed until my kids were old enough to be scouts, but I was wrong. After taking a couple months off to settle into the college life I received an unexpected phone call asking if I was interested in coming back to serve as the 3^rd Assistant Scout Master for Troop D-338, one of the SHAC National Jamboree Contingents. After that incredible experience I knew I needed to find my way back into scouting. A couple days after National Jamboree I interviewed for a position on the Bid Team for the 2016 Interamerican Region (IAR) Scout Conference & Youth Forum to be held in Houston Texas and three months later I traveled to Buenos Aires Argentina as one of the BSA Youth Delegates and came back with the winning bid. I am currently playing an active role in the development process for the next IAR YF and Scout Conference. My international experience continued during the Interamerican Leadership Training at Camp Strake in December 2013 and now in 15 short days I will be traveling to Slovenia for the 12^th World Scout Youth Forum & 40^th World Scout Conference.

World Scouting… one of those things that was unheard of to me growing up, and it wasn’t until I was standing in a crowd of 300+ scouts from all over our region singing/screaming scout songs in uttermost enjoyment that I learned scouting was live and well in all parts of the world. WOSM (World Organization of the Scout Movement) composed of 162 countries each with their own NSO (National Scout Organization). Here in the US, Boy Scouts of America is our NSO. Each NSO is also grouped into one of the six regions in WOSM, African Region, Arab Region, Asia-Pacific Region, Eurasia Region, European Region and the Interamerican Region. Each has their own conferences that all lead up to the World Scout Conference which we will be attending. BSA is apart of the Interamerican Region (IAR). IAR includes Canada and Chile and all the counties in-between totaling at 34 NSO’s. We have a regional office in Panama City, Panama, which governs our region. IAR host several regional scouting events besides the IAR Conference and Youth Forum like the IAR JamCam that will be held in Ecuador in 2017 and the IAR Scout Moot in 2017 in Peru.

After my experience in IAR scouting I’ve made several close friends, some of which I will be seeing Slovenia soon. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I am incredibly honored to be representing BSA at the world level. For the next couple days before our departure for this incredible scout experience, our delegation of 4 other extraordinary scouters from throughout our nation will each be posting their introductions/Bios with some fun international scout facts to help catch you up with the international scout events and terms. Feel free to comment with question and please continue to follow/share our journey throughout the next couple weeks. 

Yours in International Scouting,

Gus Sanchez