[Philippines] IYF Transplants Mind Education to Scouts at ASEAN Jamboree

Boy Scout, a youth group founded in England in 1920 is currently has 40 million members in 169 countries. The founder of the Boy Scout, Baden-Powell, was lieutenant-general of the British Army. During the war in Africa, he thought, ‘By training youth and building leadership, courage, initiative, and service, they will be an active worker when the country is in great crisis.” After his military service, he began to put his thoughts into practice from 1906 and started recruiting and training about 20 youths. The Scout Movement thus started to grow steadily, and in 1920, it holds a large-scale camp in which 8,000 youths from 34 countries participated. This was the beginning of today’s scout.

Among the many scouting events, ‘Jamboree’ is an event where scout members gather and camp outdoors every four years to learn self-control, challenging spirit, ability to survive, and cope with crises. It can be thought of as a ‘Scout World Camp.’ Depending on the size of the participating countries, various sizes of jamborees are being held in national, continental and worldwide scale. Korea also hosted the 17th World Scout Jamboree in Goseong, Gangwon Province in 1991. The first part in the ‘Scout Oath’, which is learnt by heart by all scout members is, “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country[…]” In this context, we can derive that the scout first began based on Christian spirit.

Unfortunately, members of Scout are steadily declining. The Boy Scouts of America, the most active scout in the world, have seen a sharp reduction in the number of members from its peak of four million, and now they are 2.3 million, only half of that size. Camping, hiking, first aid etc., which are known to be the highlights of scout activities, can no longer attract youths of today because of their preference for smartphones and video media. Hence, it is believed that great change is needed in scout activities and events.

The International Youth Fellowship (IYF) has presented mind education as a solution to the global issue of youth, has been steadily implementing it, and has sought ways to work in partnership with governments and youth groups in various countries through MOUs. In April, the organization signed an MOU with the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (President Wendel E. Avisado) and proposed to hold various IYF educational programs such as mind education and music performances at the 6th ASEAN Jamboree scheduled in November. This proposal was accepted by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, allowing the mind lecture of Pastor Ock Soo Park as well as the student performances of Gangneung Lincoln School and Gracias Music School to be successfully held at the Jamboree.

ASEAN Jamboree is a big gathering of 11 member countries’ scouts of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Among them, the Philippines and Indonesia are among the world’s best scout powerhouses. In addition to ASEAN members, more than 30,000 scouts from 17 countries, including Korea, the Netherlands and Kuwait attended. In this Jamboree, which will be held until December 2nd, IYF will perform Act II of the Christmas Cantata, world cultural dances, and the mind lecture of Pastor Ock Soo Park for the participants. Outside of the venue, a variety of programs including Educator Forum, MOU signing with the Jamboree host city (Tagum City), Christian Leaders ‘Meeting (CLF), and surrendered drug addicts’ mind education are scheduled to take place.

After the opening ceremony, the reception was held at the City Hall by Allan L. Rellon, the mayor of the Tagum City. The Gracias Music School students presented a beautiful performance on stage as a celebratory performance and Mayor Lelong introduced Pastor Ock Soo Park as the founder of the IYF who helped make this Jamboree beautiful and magnificent. Moreover, President Avisado of the Boy Scouts of Philippines delivered a letter of appreciation and souvenir to Pastor Ock Soo Park.

In Korea, there was a time when scout activities were popular and active among young people. However, many have criticized that only the superficial things such as camping and various kinds of education remain without the Christianity-based dedication and challenge, self-control, and proper duties. Perhaps this is the appropriate time for a big change in scout activities. The 6th ASEAN Jamboree will be a turning point to restore the spirit of scout originating from faith in God.