The Future Starts Today Not Tomorrow: Polish National Jamboree Gdańsk 2018

The aim of the Polish National Jamboree “Gdansk 2018” was to celebrate the 100 years of Poland’s independence, as well as the 100 years of the founding of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP).
Having in mind Scouting values, The Polish Jamboree team strived to inspire young people to change the world for the better. They achieved this by developing a motivating, exciting and engaging programme, consisting of a range of thematic hubs all the way from Heritage to Civilisation to Water to Community Service…etc.

The Polish National Jamboree was the greatest test for all infrastructure solutions and programme activities prepared for the upcoming European Jamboree 2020 which will take place in the exact same location– on Sobieszewo Island in Gdańsk, near the Baltic Sea coast.

Regarding the European Jamboree, the Polish Scouting and Guiding Organization could test a few things:

Volunteering power:
Key to every successful event are people who are eager to create together a great experience for the participants. There has been around 1000 volunteers this time around and a lot more are expected to be mobilised for the big event in order to ensure a sleep-rest-work balance.

Campsite on Sobieszewo Island:
The campsite served the team really well. The area is big enough, outside the city centre but still within 20-30 min ride from Gdańsk, near the Baltic Sea but far enough to ensure the participants’ safety.

Transportation:
The traffic was jammed from time to time. There should be a new bridge to Sobieszewo Island until June 2018. although, because of some delays on the construction site it will be ready just by the end of September 2018. During EJ2020, it is expected that the will-be-constructed bridge and better-managed traffic will keep jams under control.

Programme:
The modular programme was prepared in such way that every jamboree troop (40) could participate in every kind of activity and had one day off to see the city or other sights on Kashubia. Activities ended at 4-5 p.m. And Scouts had time to cook meal and rest. From 7 p.m. till 10.30 p.m, they had the possibility to participate in the evening program. Such a structure could be foreseen for the big event EJ2020.

The test has been run successfully and all fingers are crossed for an even more successful event in 2020 where all NSO and NSAs from Europe and beyond would come together to celebrate values of solidarity, youth power and active citizenship!

This article has been written by the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP) and edited by the European Scout Region.