Introduction
When Scouting was founded in 1907, the concept of Internet was far from
the imagination of Scouting founder Lord Baden-Powell. So were many other
aspects of Scouting today.
While society and scouting have changed over the years, Scouting
fundamental principles have essentially stood the test of time and then
remain universal for all Scout organizations which are members of the
World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Scouts around the world share much in common and Scouting encourages them
to use that mutual understanding as the basic for learning about each
other, making friends, and building a better and more peaceful world. The
word "Jamboree" is said to have been invented by Lord
Baden-Powell as a name for an event which brings Scouts together from
around the world. The first World Jamboree was in 1922 and it was a
remarkable historic, event bringing together some 8,000 Scouts from 34
countries.
The spirit and drive for Scouts to get together at international events
have never diminished and there are hundreds of "International"
Scouting events each year.
Getting together does not always require a physical presence. In 1957, the
concept of the World Scout Jamboree-On-The-Air (JOTA) was launched and it
has been a popular event which today involves more than half-a-million
Scouts and Girl Guides who communicate with each other on the third
weekend of each October by amateur radio and related technology. In the
mid 1990 the means for international electronic communication became
available to virtually anyone with a computer.
Scouts have been among the first to use every technological development to
"get together" electronically. The spontaneous and overwhelming
involvement of scouts on the Internet is proof that it is a viable way of
bringing Scouts together in ways that Lord Baden-Powell probably would
have wanted to use to the fullest.
18th Georgetown North Penang is among the troops in Penang, Malaysia
that has ventured into internet scouting with the setting up of 18th
GT(N) Online.
The Concept of JOTI
Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) is newly recognised by the World
Organisation of Scout Movements (WOSM) as an international Scouting
activity.
JOTI allows Scouts who may not have access to amateur radio to still
join in and contact Scouting friends around the world by the use of a
Personal Computer and a connection via the Internet
The Scoutlink Project provides safe Internet Relay Chat access and
provides software to allow users to communicate safely and privately with
other Scouts all around the world. This site includes details of this
years event
Rationale and History
In November 1996 the World Scout Committee, noting that Scouting already
had a considerable presence on the Internet, and that there was already an
informal and rapidly growing Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI), decided that
JOTI should become an official international Scouting event, and that it
should be held on the same weekend as the Jamboree on the Air.
Therefore, the World Scout Jamboree on the Internet is to be held on the third full weekend of October each year, starting at 00.00 hours local time on the Saturday and concluding 48 hours later at 24:00 hours local time on the Sunday.
Special Internet jamborees may also be organized in conjunction with local, national, and international Scouting events which are held at other times of the year. When Scouting was founded in 1907, the concept of Internet was far from the imagination of Scouting's founder Lord Baden-Powell. So were many other aspects of Scouting today. While society and Scouting have changed over the years, Scouting's fundamental principles have essentially stood the test of time and they remain universal for all Scout organizations which are members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Scouts around the world share much in common, and Scouting encourages
them to use that mutual understanding as the basis for learning about each
other, making friends, and building a better and more peaceful world.
The word "Jamboree" is said to have been invented by
Baden-Powell as a name for an event which brings Scouts together from
around the world. The first World Jamboree was in 1920 and it was a
remarkable, historic, event bringing together some 8,000 Scouts from 34
countries.
The spirit and drive for Scouts to get together at international events
has never diminished, and there are hundreds of "international"
Scouting events each year.
Getting together does not always require a physical presence. In 1957, the concept of the World Scout Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) was launched, and it has been a popular event which today involves more than half-a-million Scouts and Girl Guides who communicate with each other on the third weekend of each October by amateur radio, and related technology.
In the mid 1990's the means for international electronic communication
became available to virtually anyone with a computer.
Scouts have been among the first to use every technological development to
"get together" electronically. The spontaneous and overwhelming
involvement of Scouts on the Internet is proof that it is a viable way of
bringing Scouts together in ways that Baden-Powell probably would have
wanted to use to the fullest.
Some Characteristics of Scouting on the Internet
1. It is an economical way of communicating locally, nationally and
internationally.
2. Worldwide accessibility / availability.
3. Speed of communication: It can be instantaneous, live.
4. Potential quality of communication: Scouts on the Internet can go
beyond simply saying "Hi". There is potential for sharing more
meaningful information, establishing friendships, improving the Scout
programme, starting projects, etc.
5. Educational: The amount of useful information about Scouting available
via the Internet is large and growing daily.
Languages: It is possible to participate in JOTI by contacting others who
share your language; if one is communicating in another language, one can
use "off-line" time to more carefully compose messages.
What is the INTERNET?
Internet is the name for a group of would-wide resources. At first, it
started with the collection of computer network that were developed in the
1970s. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet) was the first
network created and sponsored by the US Department of Defense. The network
was use for military purposes only. Internet is the descendant of the
ARPANet.
Revolutionary Roles
The internet today plays a significant role in Scouting. It enables both
Scouts and Guides around the world to connect and bring them all together
through the sending of messages and exchanging information through various
internet services such as e-mails, chat rooms and message boards.
Scouters and their troops, alike, can set up a website dedicated to
Scouting that has lots of information about Scouting so that the knowledge
of Scouting can be shared by everyone around the world. Such webpages also
promotes Scouting to the rest of the world besides allowing Scouts from
other parts of the world to obtain information from other countries. Since
the introduction of Jamboree-On-The-Internet (JOTI) in 1996, many Scouting
websites has been set up and some of them had prominent resources:-
Animated
Knots - Learn how to tie knots online.
Scouting Portal - Everything
that you wish to know about Scouting.
Scouting
and Guiding Song Book - A collection of various traditional campfire
tunes and lyrics.
Backwood'sman
Cooking - a site full of information and tips on cooking using natural
resources.
Apart from that, Scouting web-rings have also been set up to connect
Scouts and Guides websites and resources all over the world. Other popular
Scouting site with announcements and events include:-
ScoutBase UK
ScoutNET
The official WOSM website
In order to attract Scouts to venture into the internet, Scouting Awards
have been set up where Scouts or troops with a website can submit their
site to be reviewed and honoured a Scouting Excellence Award.
In Malaysia, the trend in Internet Scouting began with JOTI 1996 when the
Penang Scouts Association introduced it and launched their website at
www.scout.org.my . It was quickly followed with the launch of the official
website of the Malaysian Scouts Association at my.scout.net