By Anna Tomforde
London, Aug 1, 2007.
The focus of the celebrations
Wednesday moved to
Some 300 scouts from 160
countries set up camp on the site, as a further 40,000 scouts and leaders from
across the world continued a 12-day jamboree near
At
The highlight of Baden-Powell's
military career was the defence of the besieged South African town of
Scouts from more than 160
countries, including Britain, Lebanon, Nepal, Rwanda, Serbia, Libya and
Argentina, paraded their flags before taking part in a the sunrise ceremony on
Brownsea Wednesday.
They led the way for scouts
around the globe in re-affirming their multi-lingual promise to build a
tolerant and peaceful society.
'Our aim is to bring up the
next generation of useful citizens with a wider outlook than before and thereby
to develop goodwill and peace in the world with comradeship and co-operation,'
it says.
In his foundation speech,
Baden-Powell had called for 'peace, comradeship and cooperation instead of rivalry
between classes, creeds and countries which have done so much in the past to
produce wars and unrest.'
Events to mark the
anniversary were held as far afield as
There are believed to be 28
million scouts worldwide.
Unlike their founding
fathers, modern scouts no longer sit around camp fires, forbidden by wildlife
protection rules.
Instead, they focus on the
Baden-Powell motto of making friends across the social divide and 'making the
world a better place while having fun and adventure at the same time,' said
scout leader Jon Grimes.
'If young people around the
world can repeat what has happened here today - then we really can help to
build a more friendly world,' said 17-year-old Mariama
Irele, from
'Two days ago I arrived here
on a boat with 300 strangers - now they are all my friends,' added Irele.
Ana Mejia, 14, from
'If Baden-Powell knew just
how successful the movement he founded all those years ago has become, he would
be delighted,' said 17-year-old Alastair Frankl from
Only scouting could bring
together so many young people from different backgrounds, said Frankl, adding:
'I'm already looking forward to our next 100 years.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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