Friendship and fun evident in International Scout Peace Camp

© Gerakan Pramuka

The International Scout Peace Camp (ISPC) opened in fanfare, reinforced with the dancing of hundreds of participants and guests attending the opening ceremony at the Cibubur Scout Camping Ground, east of Jakarta, on 25th March 2013. The peace camp is one of the Messengers of Peace initiatives and the first of its kind held in Indonesia.

The camp for Rovers and Senior Rovers (18 to 25 years old) will run until 31st March, and is attended by over 500 participants, out of which 150 come from different countries and regions in the world, including Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Belarus, Cambodia, Scouts of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Moldova, Macau, Mexico, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and for local participants 31 out of 33 provinces in Indonesia attended.

Under the banner of “Scouting Builds Peace”, the atmosphere of peace, friendship and fun were evident that while a Rover sang the camp theme song at the opening, participants and guests joined him in the fun with the entire World Scout Committee and Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Committee members headed by WSC Chairman Simon Hang Bock Rhee and Regional Chairman Dr Chao Shou-Po. Also, joining the fun were WOSM Secretary General Mr. Scott Teare, Regional Director Abdullah Rasheed and RSC member and Gerakan Pramuka (GP) Chairman Prof. Dr. Azrul Azwar.

Chairman Azwar and WSC Chairman Simon congratulated the participants and both urged them to live up the Scouting spirit and spread the message of peace and love, whether at home, in the community, in colleges or anywhere else. Simon congratulated GP for being the largest national Scout organization and for hosting this international peace camp.

GP Chairman Azwar opened the camp and said that it was a great honour for GP to host another international Scouting activity. He hoped that through the camp, participants will get to know each other more that fosters better understanding among the participants and the local communities. All guests of honour signed in Commemorative Cover, a limited edition issued by the Indonesian Postal Service.

After a festive day in Cibubur, participants went straight to their respective sub-camps: Kampung Domba (Banten Province), Kampung Sukaratu (West Java Province), and Setu Babakan (Jakarta Province) to live with the locals for three days, to experience their way of life and to do community service that will mark their stay.

The members of the WSC and RSC were invited for a luncheon hosted in Jakarta by the Governor of DKI Jakarta Province Joko Widodo and Vice-Governor Basuki Tjahja Purnama -- a rare occasion to see in Indonesia when in one event, both the Governor and the Vice Governor welcomed the guests. The Vice-Governor, in his welcome remarks at the Governor’s Office, emphasized the value of Scouting and give credit to it in building up their young people.

-- Berthold Sinaulan, APR Honorary Correspondent/WOSM Correspondent
Photo courtesy of the Public Relations Bureau, Gerakan Pramuka NHQ

http://scout.org/en/around_the_world/asia_pacific/information_events/news/friendship_and_fun_evident_in_international_scout_peace_camp