We must invest more in developing enduring competences in young people

I salute you all with gladness from Uganda, your host for the first and hopefully the last Africa Scouts Jamboree to be held virtually.

I must say that it is indeed a blessing for Uganda to host the 08th Africa Scout Jamboree 2020 under the theme, “Step into Africa’s Tomorrow.” It is likely that more than 95 (ninety-five) percent of the young people participating in this Jamboree were not yet born when Uganda first hosted this event over three decades ago in 1989. At that time, it was the 02nd Africa Scout Jamboree.

For our young people in Uganda, the journey of participating in the Africa Scout Jamboree has always been one to remember for those who take part. The journey starts with intense preparations and competitions at school level to find which groups shall represent the school at district level until the national level event. The journey of selecting the teams of young people to represent the country at Kaazi or anywhere the Jamboree is to be hosted has always been a thrill and a moment of excitement for those who take part.

I am sure the thrill and excitement the young people in Uganda share when it comes to participation in the Africa Scout Jamboree is shared by the rest of the participants from around the continent and the world over. Indeed, the Jamboree has always been an event that many Scouts look forward to with great anticipation.

The event’s ability to bring thousands of young people from diverse nationalities together in a single location is a unique experience that cannot be matched with a virtual alternative as we are having today.

Uganda just like the rest of the world, is experiencing a once in a generation disruption of our routines as we had been accustomed to. For those of you participating in the Africa Scouts Jamboree for your very first time, please know that things have not always been this way. And by the grace of God, things will not remain the way they are today as imposed on us by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, we must also be prepared for the likelihood that life may not necessarily revert to how it was before the pandemic. The pandemic has shown that no society or institution was aptly prepared for the level of disruption. And I pose a question to our young people whether they are preparing themselves well enough to live in a disrupted “Tomorrow.”

COVID-19 pandemic has brought to us a kind of “tomorrow” that many individuals and societies were unprepared for. There has also come the realization that some of the hard skills of how to do things have become irrelevant because the way work is done has been disrupted.

Through the Scout Jamboree experience, the young people get exposed to and acquire valuable livelihood skills. But I want to challenge our young people and the Scouts movement of today that we must invest more in developing enduring competences in our young people. Competences that impart in our young people the ability to first and foremost survive in a turbulent, volatile, and unpredictable “tomorrow.” It is only after one has survived, that they can meaningfully talking about thriving.

The kind of competences I am referring to as enduring is what we commonly refer to as a value system. Values are the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide our behavior. They are the non-negotiables of one’s life that determine what is important in life.

Values are not just nice statements we talk about; they are observed in the way we treat others and the way we execute our work. The disruption by COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the gaps we have had in our value system as societies world over. It has exposed selfishness, impatience, lack of empathy, and several other vices in us that interfere with the pursuit of individual and societal goals and purposes.

If we do not train our young people to take a hold of their individual lives in a responsible manner today, how can we expect them to be responsible for a “tomorrow” that is more violent, volatile, and uncertain? My prayer is that the Africa Scout Jamboree becomes a platform to train the heart of the young person in such a way that when he or she grows up, they will not depart from the path of life in spite of what “tomorrow” brings their way.

To our young people participating in the 08th Africa Scout Jamboree 2020, this event brings a rare lifetime experience that many of your peers would love to become a part of. Take this event as a God-send opportunity for you personally, to build in yourself something that cannot be taken away by any circumstances but rather takes you through the circumstances.

I will share with you about the life of a person whom; perhaps, some of you have heard of. There was a young shepherd in the nation of Israel whose “tomorrow” brought him the opportunity to become the greatest King in Israel. By the time he was identified and anointed to become the future King of Israel, David about the age of 15 (fifteen) years – the common age for a good number of you in this 08th Africa Scout Jamboree.

As a little shepherd, David acquired and exhibited several life skills and competences of a modern-day Scout. With such skills, David was able to fight valiantly for his nation against their arch enemies at the time. The famous victory of David that many are acquainted with is his slaying of Goliath the Giant with a simple stone and a sling.

Shepherding was David’s training ground in mastery of use of a sling and stone as weapons to protect his father’s flock from wild beasts.

Like it was with young David, it is documented that Lord Baden-Powell’s pioneer young scouts in England had acquired certain skills during their scout training. That the skills these young people had acquired as scouts were later an invaluable resource in England’s war efforts during the first world war.

Later in life, David became the King of Israel. It is said of David in the Biblical Book of Psalms 78:71-72, that, “from tending the sheep He (God) brought him (David) to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his (God’s) inheritance. And David shepherded them (Israel) with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” This should be a challenge to our young people today that skillfulness alone is not enough to make them “Step into the Africa of Tomorrow.”

You may step into tomorrow but to thrive you will need not only skills but enduring values such as integrity, empathy, patience, self-control, humility, and the like. These are virtues that no circumstance can take away from you as a young person but will instead take you through the circumstances tomorrow brings your way.

Therefore, as young people, spend time reflecting on this uniquely held 08th Africa Scout Jamboree 2020 experience. Sieve the experiences you have had and learn from them and nurture the virtues that will take you through the Africa and world of tomorrow.

For the people of my generation and other adults that have supported these young people through the Scouting Movement; we can only say thank you. Do not tire of being a source of encouragement and counsel to the young people because that is the only legacy you can leave that will multiply what you hold dear to.

Let me now also thank Dr. Maggie Kigozi, the Chief Scout of the Uganda Scout Association, for giving me the opportunity to make these closing remarks at this event.

It is now my pleasure to officially close the virtual 08th Africa Scout Jamboree 2020

I thank you and God bless you all.

This speech was delivered by H.E Janet Kataaha Museveni, First Lady of Uganda and Minister for Education and Sports at the Closing Ceremony of the 8th Africa Scout Jamboree