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Post date: Nov 13, 2015 6:10:41 AM
Faith and Belief Zone Report
Matthew Percival (Troll)
FAB Zone Co-ordinator
Introduction
I was formally asked to be the FAB Zone Co-ordinator by the Jamboree planning team during the World Scout Interreligious Dialogue, at the KAICIID centre in Vienna in February 2014.
Before this time I had been the liaison between the Interreligious Forum of World Scouts (IFOWS) and the SAJ (Scout Association of Japan). I would be working with the FAB Zone Head Akira Ishigami, the President of the Japanese Buddhist Scout Conference.
I advised my main SAJ contact Kenji Takarabe, on the format of the FAB Zone in 2007 and 2011 and what recourses we had during those Jamborees. I felt it was important early on to see how the Jamboree planning team saw the FAB Zone and what resources they planned for it.
Work begins
During the World Scout Interreligious Dialogue, IFOWS members were concerned that the area allocated to the FAB Zone was too far away from the centre of the Jamboree and that participant footfall would be negligible. The Jamboree planning team listened to the concerns and moved the FAB Zone to an area south of the Water Activities centre.
Although the area was closer to the hub it was smaller, but we decided the area was still large enough for our needs. It was also the same location of the FAB Zone during the 30th Asia Pacific Regional Scout Jamboree/16th Nippon Jamboree.
I was tasked with designing the FAB Zone, and my first task was to locate the direction of Mecca so I could work out the best location for the Muslim Faith Area.
The following Faiths who are members of the IFOWS were present during the Jamboree:
International Forum of Jewish Scouts – IFJS
The Council of Protestants in Guiding and Scouting – CPGS
International Union of Muslim Scouts – IUMS
International Catholic Conference of Scouting – ICCS
International Link of Orthodox Christian Scouts – DESMOS
World Buddhist Scout Brotherhood – WBSB
Sikhism
Won-Buddhist Scout Council
The Church of the Latter-day Saints (LDS)
The Jamboree planning team also requested that the following Japanese Religions and Japanese Buddhist schools of the Mahayana tradition be included in the FAB Zone.
Shinto
Sekai Kyusei Kyo
Konkyo Ko
Jodo Shinshū Ōtani-Ha
Jodo Shinshū Hogwanji-Ha
Tendai Shū
Soto Zen
Jodō-Shū
Risshō Kōsei Kai
I was unfortunately unable to secure Hindu and Baha’i participation as we had in previous FAB Zones (I now have a Hindu contact which I will pass to the organisers for 2019)
I calculated that each IFOWS member could have an area of 20m x 20m and each Faith Group would receive the following equipment:
1 x Marquee (12m x 4m)
10 x tables
30 chairs
Budget 100,000 Yen (This was later increased to 150,000 Yen)
It was decided that each Faith could add their own tents if they wished, and could also hire tents from the Jamboree team.
FAB Zone Layout
As the theme of the Jamboree was 和WA = peace, harmony, cooperation, friendship and unity, it was decided that each Faith would receive the same equipment and the same number of staff and International Service Team (IST) which was 11 people.
Some Faiths did find the restrictions on the size of tent and the number of staff quite restricting, as there had not been limits set previously. I think there was a feeling that if they could not have their required staff and tent size, then they would not be able to provide an adequate service.
In a few cases this did involve some lobbying and I would like to thank the SAJ and members of the World Scout Bureau for giving me their support.
Every World Scout Jamboree is its own event with its own unique character and challenges.
Each NSO has its own way of planning the event and allocating resources, so to me it is impractical to expect things to be the same every time.
As the main themes for the Jamboree were peace, harmony, cooperation, friendship and unity and creating a better world, I felt it would be strange if participants saw that some Faiths had more than others.
Personally I feel that the FAB Zone should not be a mirror on reality. Most participants would know that some Religions are larger than others. To me the FAB Zone should be an aspiration. Yes, in reality Faiths are not equal, but in “creating a better world” we can show participants what could be. We tell the participants that they are the future, so I felt we needed to give them some positive examples.
The majority of the Faiths accepted the resources that would be provided, and I promised I would do my best to increase resources.
Jamboree Year
I created several newsletters during the run up to the Jamboree and with the help of the WSB started to put together a team. I was initially joined by Father Jonathan How the WOSM advisor for Spiritual and Religious development and Alain Siberstein the President of the IFJS, who concentrated on planning the interreligious ceremony and the interreligious aspect of the FAB Zone respectively.
In February 2014 I travelled to Tokyo, Japan to attend a Jamboree Delivery Team Meeting.
While I was there I was able to touch base with Kenji Takarabe and also meet several JDT members who wished to work in the FAB Zone. They were from the UK, USA and Japan and were keen to get involved, which was fantastic.
After the meeting I flew to Yamaguchi to visit the Jamboree site. There had been concerns raised that the scale of the map was incorrect, and that there would not be enough room.
I went the Yamaguchi Council Scout office and with local Scouters visited Kirarahama.
I borrowed a large tape measure and measured the site to confirm my calculations had been correct. The weather was cold with occasional flurries of snow, which was not pleasant at the time, but became a fond memory later in the year when it was 35ºc.
My main role as FAB Zone coordinator prior to the Jamboree was to ensure that everyone else had the facilities to do their job during the Jamboree. This included assisting the Jamboree Planning team with the complexities of Kosher food which was an education in itself.
Many Faiths felt that an extra tent would be useful, as the FAB Zone has several purposes.
Firstly the Faiths can teach participants about their Faith through activities and secondly it is a place where participants can perform acts of worship and find a quiet and familiar place to sit if they need to.
I looked at several options of hiring/buying another tent but the cost became impractical. This is something that needs to be taken into account at future World Scout Jamborees.
Another thing that we have not get quiet right yet is how IFOWS members are registered.
When they are running the FAB Zone they are not there as members of their National Scouting Organization, and could not guarantee that they would be picked as part of their NSO IST. This can be problematic and has been dealt with in different ways over the last couple of World Scout Jamborees. It would be good if there could be a standard template for NSO’s going forward.
Prior to the Jamboree KAICIID (King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue) also joined the team and planned a tent where participants discuss interreligious dialogue and help create a dialogue themed board game.
The Jamboree
I arrived in Japan just at the tail end of Typhoon Nangka, but due to the efforts of the Jamboree planning team the site was not badly affected.
The site was set up ready and then the FAB Zone staff arrived.
In my welcome speech I set out my thoughts, which were as follows:
“People often say that Religion causes wars, but I disagree, Religious intolerance causes wars. Many of the Faiths represented here have a history of conflict and even as we speak, those who are intolerant are fighting falsely in Religions name, which the participants will be aware of. Their background may not be religious, they may have family or friends who show intolerance to those of other faiths and may have seen these thoughts in the media.
I do not care what is happening outside of this FAB Zone, in here all Religions are equal and shall be treated as such. These may be Participants, but they are the future, and if we can change the false perspective of one participant, then we are creating a better world”
The IFOWS members set up their Faith areas to await the participants and on the first day of programme it was like somebody had pressed pause in 2011 in Sweden and then pressed play again 4 years later. Everyone knew their role and it was a pleasure to work with such a professional and dedicated group of people.
The FAB Zone was busy throughout the Jamboree with many participants returning more than once. It was good that it was a free time activity, as the participants were there because they wanted to be there, not because they had to.
Many people commented on the friendly and “family like” atmosphere they found, as we are all a group of friends who respect each other’s beliefs and choose to celebrate our commonality and not our differences, which is of course the Scouting way.
Father Jonathan and his team of youth advisers and staff worked tirelessly putting together the finishing touches to the Interreligious ceremony and on the day it was fantastic – we estimate that 12,000 participants chose to attend and the atmosphere and was fantastic.
The WOSM Secretary General gave the following speech:
Good morning Jamboree!
What a joy and delight it is to be here with you this morning.
We have come from every corner of the globe, crossing over every ocean on our planet to get to the 23rd World Scout Jamboree.
We come here energised by the promise of World Scouting and motivated by the message of our movement.
“WA: a Spirit of Unity” is the theme of this WORLD UNITING jamboree.
Your presence at this jamboree transforms the Spirit of Unity, of hope into action.
Your actions, driven by the shared values that each and every Scout embraces, speaks to the truth and power of the Scout Promise: Duty to God, Duty to Self, and Duty to Others. These are the principles that make real the hope we feel here today.
These values shape us as individual Scouts... and these shared values unite us, connect us, and link us together even in the face of our stunning diversity, a diversity which is so prominent and so beautiful.
For a moment, I want to reflect on Duty to God as a foundational principle of our Promise and World Scouting.
For us attending this morning’s service, commitment to Duty to God derives from the deep and strong beliefs of our movement’s founder, Lord Robert Baden-Powell.
Duty to God as a core value informed B-P’s thinking as he went about designing the Scouting programme. So Duty to God flows directly from the intent of our founder.
Here at the World Jamboree, we see the unity found in the power of our diversity. Scouting never dictates the path any one of us should take regarding our religious beliefs. However, Scouting does tell us that we are to help "bring about God's kingdom on earth". We contribute to this goal through those values expressed in our Promise.
Applying the principles derived from the Promise allows us to enthusiastically promote the notion of inclusive participation and inclusive leadership.
All recognised faith groups are welcomed within the Scouting family. Just visit the Faith and Beliefs Zone on the jamboree site to see this principle made real.
Have you ever thought about the neckerchief you wear? Ask yourself, “Why is it triangular?” Someone recently told me that it has three sides to represent:
• Duty to God
• Duty to Self
• Duty to Others
And by wearing our neckerchief, we literally wrap ourselves in those values.
In the words of our founder, and I quote him now:
“Let us, therefore, in training our Scouts, keep the higher aims in the forefront, not let ourselves become too absorbed in the steps. Don't let the technical outweigh the moral. (Things like) field efficiency, backwoodsmanship, camping, hiking, good turns, jamboree comradeship are all means, not the end. The end is character with a purpose. And that purpose (is) that the next generation may be sane in an insane world, and develop the higher realisation of service, active service of Love, and Duty to God and neighbour.”
Thank you for inviting me to share this beautiful morning with you.
My name is Scott Teare
I am a Scout
I am Messengers of Peace
And I am proud to have you as my friends.
God bless each and every one of you!
We were visited by the UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisor and 2 IST, one Muslim and one Jewish gave him a tour of the FAB Zone. On his return to the main tent he said that the FAB Zone was an example of how we can live side by side in harmony and he wished that the rest of the World could see the example that we were setting.
I feel that the FAB Zone was an integral part of the Jamboree, as the duty to god aspect of the promise links us all together and sets an example to the participants that they can hopefully take way to their homes and communities.
It was an honour and a privilege to work with such a fantastic team of people and I would like to thank everyone for their time, commitment and support. Everyone in their own way helped create a better world.
Matthew Percival (Troll)
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