Hong Kong Scouts centenary with jubilation
Year 2011 marks the centenary of Hong Kong Scouting. To celebrate this important milestone, the Scout Association of Hong Kong held a series of events and activities. The kick-off event was the Hong Kong Scout Centenary Jamboree held from 27th December 2010 to 1st January 2011 at Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island.
Coinciding the camp was the APR Programme Sub-Committee Meeting held on 27th December 2010 at the Hong Kong Scout Centre. The meeting reviewed the implications, including the pros and cons, of a stand-alone regional Jamboree vis-à-vis an APR co-titled national Jamborees. They came up with recommended actions for Jamborees beyond 2013.
A draft of the expanded guideline on hosting an Asia-Pacific Jamboree will be presented to the APR Scout Committee in its meeting in April 2011. Sub-Committee members identified the tasks, each one as “pointman” in achieving their objectives for Regional Plan 2009-2012. The Programme Sub-Committee Chairman José Eduardo Delgado chaired the meeting with Vice-Chairman Rajalingam Ramasamy. Member Joseph Lau Yee Leung arranged the logistics of the meeting.
The camp adopted the slogan ‘March On to Another Century’. In the Jamboree, a wide range of activities was housed in 5 themed activity villages. About 4,400 local and 650 overseas Scouts from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States, and 150 young people from mainland China. Participants learned to appreciate the nature through active participation in different games. More importantly, the game stalls provided a platform for Scout members and young people from different countries to exchange their experience and widen their horizon.
The Hon Henry TANG Ying-yen, GBM, GBS, JP, Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region officiated the opening ceremony and appreciated the effort of Scout Association of Hong Kong in the holistic development of the younger generation and encouraged them to grab every opportunity to equip themselves for their healthy development.
Over 5,000 Scout members aged below 12 and their family members joined on the Open Day on 29 and 30 December to share joyous feelings in the jamboree. At the New Year’s Eve, all campers were in a fever of excitement at the countdown party for the coming of 2011 centenary of Hong Kong Scouting.
