The Bryanston Scout hall was a hive of activity over the weekend as Cubs and Scouts participated in the annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (Jota) and Jamboree-on-the-Internet (Joti) event.
Held annually in October, Jota-Joti is the largest Scouting event in the world with more than one million young people participating from more than 150 countries.
Speaking on behalf of the Scouts and Cubs, Gary Pienaar said, “The main idea behind this event is to encourage Cubs and Scouts to converse with each other via amateur radio and the internet, learn something about each other and to make new friends. This year also marked the 60th anniversary of the very first Jota event.”
Scouts from the 1st Bryanston, 1st Rivertrail and 1st Fourways troops camped at the venue from Friday evening and participated in the activities on offer until Sunday afternoon. “In addition to speaking over the radio and learning all about the technology, they also spent time contacting other Scouts via skype, internet messaging and participating in group chat rooms which were created specifically for the event.”
Outdoor activities included building a pioneering tower for a radio mast, a navigation exercise using GPS technology as well as learning how to make a simple motor with a magnet and a battery.
One of the highlights was a demonstration by the Sandton Racing Pigeon Club, which illustrated how pigeons were used to convey messages before the advent of the first forms of radio communication technology.
On Saturday afternoon, about 70 Cubs visited the Jota-Joti station. After spending time with the radio operators, the Cubs participated in several activity bases which helped them complete the requirements towards their machines interest badge. Judging from the tired but happy faces, a great time was had by all.
“Special thanks goes to the Sandton Amateur Radio Club for providing the radio equipment and operators for the day. Radio contact was made with a number of local Jota stations, as well as stations in Namibia, Swaziland, Germany and the USA. The scouts also managed to collect 72 unique Joti identification numbers by making contact with other Scout groups over the internet,” he said.
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