Local Boy Scout participates in world jamboree in Sweden
One local Boy Scout was given an opportunity to meet Scouts from across the globe and will spend two weeks in Sweden participating in the 22nd World Scout Jamboree.
Dakota Phillips, 17, of Uniontown left for Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, where he will meet other Scouts from the United States before traveling overseas for a two-week stay. He is expected to return home Aug. 9.
“I’m looking forward to meeting all the other Scouts and seeing how people from other cultures do things, and I just want to have fun. I really don’t know what to expect, but I’m sure it’ll be a great experience,” Phillips said the day before he left.
Scouts attending the World Scout Jamboree, according to the jamboree website, will camp in a wood-surrounded field outside the town of Rinkaby, where nature will be used as a learning tool.
Phillips, a member of Boy Scouts Troop 610 in Uniontown, holds the rank of Life Scout and is working on his Eagle Scout project. He has been involved in Scouting for seven years and will be a senior at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.
To be considered for the jamboree, Phillips was required to fill out an application that detailed his time in Scouts and other activities he’s been involved with.
“They take into consideration your rank in Scouting, how many years you’ve been involved with Scouts and your leadership training,” he said.
Phillips said he received encouragement from Scoutmaster Rich Hager and his parents, Scott and Jan Phillips, in applying for the program.
The theme for the jamboree, Phillips said, is “Simply Scouting.”
The jamboree website said the program will focus on three concepts: meetings to encourage those from different cultures, religions and countries to get to know each other and become friends; nature to teach participants what they can do to better protect the world; and solidarity between Scouts to promote respect between people and to emphasize equal rights.
Forty thousand Scouts from 160 countries will be represented at the jamboree.
Jan Phillips said she is proud of her son, and that the experience is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It’s going to be a wonderful experience for him to be living with people from that many cultures for the 10 days of the jamboree. It’s a great opportunity. I’m very excited for him,” she said.
While at the jamboree, Phillips will serve as patrol leader with newly formed Scout Troop 70,003 that other Scouts from the United States who are traveling to Sweden are also part of.
For more information on the 22nd World Scout Jamboree, visit online at www.worldscoutjamboree.org. A link to five webcams where people can view activities during the jamboree is available at the website.