World Scout Jamboree is the most important event run by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for scouts 14-17 years old. WOSM is the biggest NGO in the world with tens of millions people participating. Gdansk is hoping to host the Jamboree in 2023.
Every Jamboree is a great event, both for its participants and a hosting country. Usually 40 000 scouts from more than 160 countries take part in the two weeks' event along with other 65 000 visitors. What is especially important for us, in Gdansk, the city of freedom, where the Solidarity movement was born, are values promoted by the event and the scout movement. Participants of various origin, from different countries, cooperate to fulfill the idea of peace and brotherhood among the people and nations. The scouts take part in the Home Hospitality program offering a great opportunity to learn about the hosting country, its culture and heritage. I consider these values especially important in the current international situation of growing tensions.
The upcoming World Jamboree will be held in the United States in 2019. The event with the history of 100 years has been organized only once in the Central and Eastern Europe - in 1933 in Hungary.
My dream is for Gdansk to become the host of the World Scout Jamboree in 2023. Currently we are the official candidate. We would like to organize the Jamboree on the Sobieszewska Island, with its wonderful nature and the infrastructure capable of hosting thousands of visitors.
The place has many advantages. First of all, it has a diverse landscape, sea proximity and river estuary that make the Island a great place for flora and fauna. There is about 300 species of birds living here (two ornithological reserves!), 500 different plant species, beautiful dunes, meadows, ponds. This biodiversity is accompanied by facilities for camping and sport activities. And all these wonders lie within the big city borders! Just take a look at some pictures:
Photo: Aver/CC/Wikipedia
Photo: Andrzej Otrębski/CC/Wikipedia
Photo: Jerzy Pinkas
The island is located in the close proximity to the city center and its beautiful old town, an exciting destination for tourists from all over the world. Nowadays Gdansk can be conveniently reached by a plane, train on car, because transport infrastructure in Poland - airports, railroads, highways - has been recently extensively developed. And the preparation for the new infrastructure investment on the island has already begun. We are going to build a new bascule bridge across the river, which will make travelling to and from the city center easier.
I believe that Gdansk with its unique Sobieszewska Island are wonderful venues for a perfect Jamboree 2023. A great adventure for the participants, an amazing program of activities, friendly and helpful people - I'm sure it will be an unforgettable experience for everybody.
Photo: Jerzy Pinkas
What's important, the national government has supported the initiative and Gdansk has a fruitful cooperation with the Polish member of WOSM - The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP). In 2018 ZHP will host a meeting of 20 000 scouts from Poland in Gdansk - this event will be treated as a rehearsal before the 2023.
The agreement with ZHP's scoutmaster Małgorzata Sinica signed. Photo: Jerzy Pinkas
Lech Walesa supported World Scout Jamboree in Gdansk. Photo: Jerzy Pinkas
Currently there are two candidates for the World Scout Jamboree 2023 - Poland and South Korea. The decision will be made during the 41st World Scout Conference in August 2017 in Baku - Azerbaijan.
Keep your fingers crossed for Gdansk!