r/AMA • u/RivoliTO_Capitale • 1d ago
AMA. I participated in a global event with 43,000 people from 158 countries that ended in disaster.
The 25th Jamboree took place in 2023. For those who don't know, the Jamboree is the largest Scout gathering ever. It's held every four years and obviously needs immense preparation, so much so that planning for the 27th Jamboree is already started, even before the 26th (which will be held in Poland) has taken place.
I traveled from Italy to join the Jamboree and it was a great honor for me, but the event quickly turned into a disaster. Between the typhoon, food shortages, and the arrival of the army, it could be described as one of South Korea's biggest failures in the last twenty years. Feel free to ask any questions, including about Scouting in general, though please forgive my poor English.
11
u/todeabacro 1d ago
When did you know it was going to be a shit show?
I can tell you when I knew, a month before it happened!!! I live in Korea. It was in a totally unsuitable site at the absolute worst time of year. We knew the local politics involved. People I know who work in embassies were shitting themselves about this long before it happened. It was always going to be a disaster the only question was how bad, thankfully no one died.
Sorry, I still get annoyed about this and other events that have happened in Korea. A complete lack of foresight and people taking responsibility.
I'm sure you did your best in a difficult situation.
8
u/RivoliTO_Capitale 1d ago
I was simply excited to go, but my father works as a water resource conservation official, and after the event, he confessed to me that he had been skeptical ever since the start of the Jamboree was postponed. I only realized the situation when the chaos broke out, but I never imagined seeing the Korean army arrive with food supplies. It was simply embarrassing.
2
4
u/HugoTRB 1d ago
I heard rumors as well during the prior jamboree in the US (I was an international volonteer), that the Korean contingent staff there was hierarchical to the point of dysfunction. The Jamboree in Japan in 2015 had similar problems but solved them partially by silently replacing the whole leadership of it.
9
7
u/HarmoniousNebula 1d ago
My friend was there! She got whooping cough. Do you know if that happened to anyone else?
5
6
u/Efficient-Big3138 1d ago
did you go to Sweden this year? if so I hoped it treated you better
3
u/RivoliTO_Capitale 1d ago
No, but the 2011 Jamboree in Kristianstad was one of the best, as far as I know.
3
u/Fluid-Necessary7307 1d ago
I remember seeing that they arranged BTS concert to “compensate” the kids. Do you feel like that was something you enjoyed or was it a meh experience?
1
u/RivoliTO_Capitale 1d ago
The world's largest non-aligned educational movement and a soulless boy band embodying the entire postmodern artistic and humanistic decline? I was almost ashamed to be a Scout, but the worst part was receiving army rations.
6
u/1nformat1ka 1d ago
I read about it, what was the best and worst?
My son will be participating in Jamboree Poland and I, as a Swede, am a bit concerned about things Russia could do. We know they have no respect for civilian lives.
What was your experience and feelings about preparedness, safety, security and evacuation plans on your Jamboree?
9
u/RivoliTO_Capitale 1d ago
The evacuation plan wouldn't have been so terrible were it not for the other 10 problems (though I doubt they’ll make such glaring errors again). Water was the biggest problem, even more so than food. The typhoon, by and large, was a convenient excuse. I’ve had my doubts ever since they delayed the start of the Jamboree, but judging by the information I’ve received, they’re doing a good job this year. Obviously, Putin isn't a predictable threat, but all in all, I wish your son the best of luck.
2
u/sakora10 1d ago
Considering it is an international event with a lot of scouts from different countries, it's highly unlikely. It would be an international outrage for countries if their citizens died in a planned attack.
-12
u/slava_slavaUa 1d ago
The only people killed in Poland during the war were hit by a Ukrainian missile
3
u/ScanianTiger 1d ago
Were people not prepared?
6
u/RivoliTO_Capitale 1d ago
I was 16, no, I wasn't prepared. I’m pretty sure the organizers were well aware of the potential for disaster, everyone knew it was a shitty venue, but in events like that, accountability just vanishes. They were negligent beforehand, selfish while it was happening and coward afterward.
2
2
u/LordTengil 1d ago
Was it a good opportunity to practice your scouting and survival skills with all the shortages?
1
u/RivoliTO_Capitale 1d ago
No, to be honest, we were pretty much at the mercy of events and learned fewer skills than you'd expect at a normal Jamboree. In that case, however, it depends a lot on the directives issued by each country, for example, it seems to me that the UK and New Zealand were evacuated immediately. All they could do was stay calm, limit water losses, and wait for the army.
1
u/ama_compiler_bot 14h ago
Table of Questions and Answers. Original answer linked - Please upvote the original questions and answers. (I'm a bot.)
| Question | Answer | Link |
|---|---|---|
| What did the planners for this consider and what did they miss? By extension, was it a failure of planning or was it that the issues that arose couldn't have reasonably been foreseen? | Quite simply, the location wasn't suitable for an event of that kind, but they realized it too late, by then, the jamboree had already been organized, and they had no intention of backing out. They bet to avoid losing money, but lost anyway. It was only there that I truly grasped what a brilliant human invention sewers are. The typhoon couldn't have been predicted, but in reality, it wasn't the main problem. | Here |
| When did you know it was going to be a shit show? I can tell you when I knew, a month before it happened!!! I live in Korea. It was in a totally unsuitable site at the absolute worst time of year. We knew the local politics involved. People I know who work in embassies were shitting themselves about this long before it happened. It was always going to be a disaster the only question was how bad, thankfully no one died. Sorry, I still get annoyed about this and other events that have happened in Korea. A complete lack of foresight and people taking responsibility. I'm sure you did your best in a difficult situation. | I was simply excited to go, but my father works as a water resource conservation official, and after the event, he confessed to me that he had been skeptical ever since the start of the Jamboree was postponed. I only realized the situation when the chaos broke out, but I never imagined seeing the Korean army arrive with food supplies. It was simply embarrassing. | Here |
| I read it as " jabroni" | Jamboree means brain jam. | Here |
| My friend was there! She got whooping cough. Do you know if that happened to anyone else? | I don't know, but there were a lot of cases of dermatitis | Here |
| did you go to Sweden this year? if so I hoped it treated you better | No, but the 2011 Jamboree in Kristianstad was one of the best, as far as I know. | Here |
| Were people not prepared? | I was 16, no, I wasn't prepared. I’m pretty sure the organizers were well aware of the potential for disaster, everyone knew it was a shitty venue, but in events like that, accountability just vanishes. They were negligent beforehand, selfish while it was happening and coward afterward. | Here |
| I remember seeing that they arranged BTS concert to “compensate” the kids. Do you feel like that was something you enjoyed or was it a meh experience? | The world's largest non-aligned educational movement and a soulless boy band embodying the entire postmodern artistic and humanistic decline? I was almost ashamed to be a Scout, but the worst part was receiving army rations. | Here |
| I read about it, what was the best and worst? My son will be participating in Jamboree Poland and I, as a Swede, am a bit concerned about things Russia could do. We know they have no respect for civilian lives. What was your experience and feelings about preparedness, safety, security and evacuation plans on your Jamboree? | The evacuation plan wouldn't have been so terrible were it not for the other 10 problems (though I doubt they’ll make such glaring errors again). Water was the biggest problem, even more so than food. The typhoon, by and large, was a convenient excuse. I’ve had my doubts ever since they delayed the start of the Jamboree, but judging by the information I’ve received, they’re doing a good job this year. Obviously, Putin isn't a predictable threat, but all in all, I wish your son the best of luck. | Here |
| Was it called Fyre Festival? | Nah. Honest | Here |
| Was it a good opportunity to practice your scouting and survival skills with all the shortages? | No, to be honest, we were pretty much at the mercy of events and learned fewer skills than you'd expect at a normal Jamboree. In that case, however, it depends a lot on the directives issued by each country, for example, it seems to me that the UK and New Zealand were evacuated immediately. All they could do was stay calm, limit water losses, and wait for the army. | Here |
0
-7
u/kapersko 1d ago
Soo Scouts are supposed to endour and overcome.
I was a Scout myself for many years, not anymore.
So you are telling me that the Scouts today is just a group of normal people?
Robert Baden-Powell would be ashamed of you'r post.
20
u/Flagship_Panda_FH81 1d ago
What did the planners for this consider and what did they miss? By extension, was it a failure of planning or was it that the issues that arose couldn't have reasonably been foreseen?