Young people from across Wales have united to take part in the very first digital All Wales Scout Camp, as the annual event celebrates its 20th birthday.
As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, the camp had to be swiftly adapted to become an online event. Usually for Scouts only, the camp was opened up to all sections who have been Scouting from home and had 500 young people sign up to take part.
The camp weekend began with a live opening ceremony on Zoom, which featured videos from Rhian Moore, Chief Commissioner for Wales and Tim Kidd, Chief Commissioner for UK.
The young people then got stuck into activities across five zones, designed to encourage them to expand their skill set, work collaboratively with others and complete their challenge awards.
Each activity zone had a corresponding YouTube video that had been pre-recorded with instructions on how to complete each activity successfully.
The World Zone taught the young people how to make a water filter out of items they could easily find around their homes.
The Skills Zone saw them learning how to create a stop motion video as well as making their own play dough to feature in the film.
The Creative Zone focused on the intricate art of Origami, while the Boing Zone taught them how to make rainbow bubble snakes.
Finally, The Adventure Zone seen the young people learning how to make a burner stove from simple household items.
At 7pm, camp leaders held a live virtual quiz and encouraged everyone taking part to pitch a tent or build a den to use for the evening.
Participants reconvened Sunday morning to complete their final activity and the camp came to an end with a live closing ceremony, showcasing videos and photographs from the weekend.
Brianne Evans, Deputy Camp Chief for Communication and Sustainability, said: “As the event was digital this year the team had to approach the planning with a whole new creative way of thinking. With everyone being at home, equipment is also limited, and the team really had to think outside of the box to be able to deliver an amazing programme full of fun, challenges, and adventure. They did an amazing job!
“We were so pleased to see so many people across Wales taking part, the resilience of our young people is incredible and they all did a fantastic job of adapting to the changes we had to make this year.
“We received so much positive feedback after the camp, it actually made some of the team emotional! Everyone who took part enjoyed all of the activities and our social media was full of smiling faces. As a team, we really couldn’t be prouder of everyone who took part.”
ScoutsCymru is open to all young people in Wales regardless of faith, gender, sexual orientation, race or social background, and encourages its members to do more, learn more and be more
The organisation encourages and supports over 15,000 young people to develop invaluable skills for life, which help them succeed now and in the future.
