JEDDAH, 30 July 2007 — One hundred and fifty Saudi scouts from across the Kingdom are currently participating in the 21st World Scout Jamboree, which is being held in the United Kingdom. Over 155 countries are participating in the event to celebrate the centenary of the scouting movement. The World Scout Jamboree began on July 27 and will conclude on Aug. 8.

Prince Mohammed ibn Nawwaf, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, will visit the Saudi delegation in London today accompanied by Minister of Education Dr. Abdullah Al-Obaid.

Britain’s Prince William helped open the event on Saturday as 40,000 people from around the globe gathered to celebrate the centenary of scouting. Prince William, 25, who is second in line to the throne, sipped tea in a traditional Bedouin tent erected by Saudi scouts and bashed out a rhythm on an African drum as he joined in with an international band.

Speaking about the general situation of Saudi scouts, Abdullah Al-Fahad, secretary-general of the Saudi Boy Scouts Association (SBSA) and deputy-president of the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, said their numbers are swelling due to support from families, schools, universities and sports clubs.

Al-Fahad said, “We now have around 100,000 Saudi scouts and 15,000 guides. We hope to increase the number of scouts each year by at least five percent.”

The Kingdom last year hosted a successful international scouts event in Jubail called “Together for Peace,” which was attended by scouts from 85 countries.

“Foreigners were able to learn about us in a direct way. It’s time that we speak for ourselves and show the rest of the countries the rich culture and heritage we have instead of relying only on the media to represent us,” he said.

Al-Fahad added that Saudi scouts underwent preparation for the London event for around six months. On July 15, a preparatory meeting entitled “Saqr Al-Aroubah” (the Falcon of Arabia), which is the nickname of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, was held to acquaint Saudi scouts with the same workshops that are held in London.

He said that the ages of participating scouts range from 14 to 17 and they speak at least two languages: Arabic and English or Arabic and French.

The SBSA are participating in seven workshops in London, representing the heritage and traditions of the Kingdom’s seven regions. Scouts are also offering traditional Saudi food and recipes at these workshops. The trip to London also includes a tour of universities and colleges in Scotland, London and Wales.

“The certificates these scouts get after each event are precious to them in spite of their age. Even senior scouts cherish them,” Al-Fahad said.

He added that Saudi girl guides also have important roles to play, which should not be underestimated. The Saudi Girl Guide Association functions separately under the supervision of Islamic scholar and university lecturer Fatima Naseef.

The secretary-general added that 3,000 Saudi boy scouts will be deployed during the upcoming Haj to guide pilgrims using state-of-the-art GPS technology. To this end, an e-map of Mina and Arafat will be produced to enable scouts to guide pilgrims using GPS. “The software for the map is ready. In the meantime, we shall train scouts in the use of GPS technology, so that they could locate the areas to which pilgrims, who have lost their way, could go.”

World Scout Jamborees take place every four years. The last one was held in Thailand in December 2002 and January 2003.

This year’s event is the biggest in the history of scouting, almost 100 years to the day since Robert Baden-Powell launched the Scout movement.