The Scout Association of Jamaica launched its year-long centenary celebrations at a press conference in Mandeville last Saturday.

Throughout the year, the organisation will stage several events to mark its entry into Jamaica from England in 1910, including district, parish and regional functions. An international jamboree will be held on July 23 at the Essex Valley Agricultural Showground in St Elizabeth and a national scout/girl guide luncheon is slated for December 14 in Kingston.

Chief commissioner of the scout movement, the Reverend Barring-ton Soares, told the press conference that scouting was one of the best areas in which both adults and young people learn the fundamentals of good citizenship.

Promoting good qualities

"Those of us who have been in scouting know very much these qualities, for they have molded the lives of many of us. We believe that scouting can enable that process if we recommit ourselves to volunteerism. Our country can be a better place because of the principles of scouting," he said.

In his address, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Ian Neita, lauded the work of the organisation.

"If you look around, you can see what is taking place among the youth. They are crying out for leadership, and the scout movement can help us to restore the values that we grew up on," he said.

The next major event of the association will be its annual public meeting on February 25 on the grounds of Wolmer's Boys' School, where scouting began in Kingston in 1911.