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The Role of The Internet in Scouting (Archived #1200)

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