Ely scout volunteer John Wetherall has been chosen to represent the UK at the World Scout Jamboree 2023 in South Korea.

John is one of the 950 adult volunteers that have been selected to represent the UK in Saemangeum, South Korea, alongside the 3,000 young people they are chaperoning to the event next year from July 1 to July 12.

John will now be a part of the International Service Team (IST), a 6,000-member strong, multinational team that’s essential in providing this experience for the scouts.

The team will work in a variety of roles such as planning and delivering activities, catering, medical to give the scouts a “once in a life time experience”.

The World Scout Jamboree is held only once every four years and brings together tens of thousands of Scouts together for a skills, culture and adventure festival.

Next year, over 50,000 scouts from all over the world will be coming together in South Korea to take part in the festivities; making it the largest scout camp to be held since the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic; almost 4,000 of which will be coming from the UK.

John said: “Having been a volunteer at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree I’ve seen how amazing the event is for the young people so I jumped at the opportunity to volunteer again for the 2023 event in Korea.

“I have been in scouting for 60 years and I’m hoping I can bring this experience to the volunteer team.

“It is also an amazing event for meeting new people and I can’t wait to go in July next year.”

The 6,000 strong IST say they are there “to make the jamboree happen, undertaking a variety of roles to give young people from around the world a once in a lifetime experience.

“This could be planning and delivering activities for thousands of participants every day, or providing key services such as medical, catering, and infrastructure.

“We are the unsung heroes that will make a difference for tens of thousands of international scouts next summer”.

Through being a part of the IST, John will have the opportunity to not only pass on their skills to young people but also develop personally.

They will gain a greater insight into global issues, whilst making lasting friendships with adult volunteers from around the globe.