UK Contingent IST/JPT BulletinIssue: 2, September 2014

Welcome!It was great to meet so many of you at our ISTogether weekend at Walesby Forest back in July. From all your feedback and comments, we’re really pleased that the overwhelming feedback is that you enjoyed the weekend and felt it was useful to you in preparing for your role.

It is now less than a year until we depart for Japan and all our fundraising and preparation will step up a gear over the coming months. I hope you enjoy this edition of the IST newsletter which we’ve put together to provide more information and advice. Further information can be found on our website www.scouts.org.uk/wsj or if you can’t find the information you need, please get in touch with us by email at: ist.communications@scouts.org.uk

Liz

Stay Happy, Stay Safe You are about to embark on an amazing opportunity, a new chapter of your Scouting journey, so it is important that you remember that as a member of IST you need to ‘Stay Happy’ and ‘Stay Safe’.

As IST, people will be looking to you as the responsible adults and you are the heart of making sure everything goes to plan. You will not only be representing UK Scouting and Guiding, but also World Scouting, so you need to make sure that you embody our values: Integrity, Respect, Care and Cooperation. As members of IST you should be ensuring that young people are kept safe, being a role model to others, behaving appropriately at all times and reporting any concerns .

But as well as keeping others safe, you need to think about how to keep yourself safe. You and your team will be different ages, have different abilities and experiences. You need to work together to share this with each other so that you work effectively and professionally. You will need to support each other, value each other and ask for help. You will also need to be aware of how your behaviour affects others, thinking about cultural differences, as well as generational and gender differences. Generally we don’t think about our behaviour or analyse our thinking or acting, but as part of IST, we have to so that we can manage our own emotions and make sure that we keep others safe. For example, it can be tempting to stay up all night and soak up the experience – but remember that if you have work to do the next day, this may affect your health and safety. We know that when people are tired it affects their responses, and you may become irritable. Start thinking about how you are going to feel and react and what strategies you could put in place for yourself. You need to look after yourself. That means eating, hydrating and getting enough sleep.

Be careful with young people’s feelings and integrity, especially as young people may develop crushes on you. Try and avoid flirting with young people, as it is not appropriate for you, as a member of IST, to have a relationship with a young person attending jamboree.

And remember, that you can look out for others as well. A good thing to do is a debrief with fellow IST at the end of the day, so you can get any frustrations off your chest as well as share the great things that have happened during the day. Don’t forget that sharing good news is a great way to keep spirits up!

New ISupportTeam MemberSince our first newsletter, we are delighted to welcome Eric Johns to the ISupportTeam. Eric lives in Scotland but has previously lived and scouted in Hertfordshire.

ISTokyoAccommodation in Tokyo will be twin rooms with all 800+ IST/JPT staying in one hotel complex, the hotel itself is in a central location and has great transport links with the train station close by. Within the hotel itself there is a lot you might like to do in your free time during your stay, the activities in the hotel include a rollercoaster, an aquarium as well as a cinema and karaoke bar to name but a few. There are also a number of restaurants and cultural attractions near the hotel which reflect Tokyo life.

When you arrive in Tokyo your first evening will include a meal and entertainment, with programmed activities the following day. We will also be producing an electronic guide book to help you choose what to do in your free time. More information in the next bulletin about food and travel around Tokyo.

Dr KirsteenDr Kirsteen is our Contingent Doctor who will be travelling to Japan with us. Kirsteen’s role is to provide support to the Contingent and in worst case scenarios provide assistance with any hospitalisations whilst we are away. In this edition, Kirsteen has provided some advice on the most common health related questions that have been asked so far.

Staying Healthy in Japan

There are no specific vaccine requirements for Japan but check all your routine UK immunisations are up to date. Younger participants should check to see if they have had 2 MMR vaccinations – there was a Rubella outbreak in Japan last year and people under 30 are potentially more at risk.

Japanese Encephalitis and Tick Borne Encephalitis are not a risk at the Jamboree site.

Regarding any existing medical conditions, make sure appropriate medication is taken with you. The recommendation is not to take more than one month’s supply and to make sure all your meds are in the original packaging. Certain drugs are not available abroad, or may not even be allowed. Drugs not allowed in Japan are generally stimulants such as Ritalin, codeine and decongestants such as pseudoephedrine. This is also a time to check with your own GP – we ask this as your GP has your medical history and they are best placed to advise you if you need to make any changes to your usual regime.

We are looking in to how we will be able to store medicines such as insulin on the site and more info will follow in due course. There are products on the market that are designed to keep medication cool such as Frio Wallets or Elite Medical coolbags.

Websites such as www.Fitfortravel.nhs.uk and www.NaTHNaC.org have comprehensive information available for travellers and fact sheets for common conditions such as asthma and diabetes.

If you have a particular medical condition, it is also worthwhile considering having a medic-alert bracelet to wear.

Eventsforce Eventsforce is the UK Contingent’s data management system and we are using this for all of our processes, including personal information, dietary / medical requirements and payments. This is where you need to tell us the details necessary for the trip. In terms of payments, you can make early payments via the system at any time. Please ensure that you select the next payment option on the list.

Below is a reminder of the deadline dates. Please note the deadline will always be 17:00 on the dates below:

Payment 3: 1 October 2014

Roles, kit & skills: 7 November 2014

Finalise passport details: 19 December 2014

Payment 4: 5 January 2015

Last payment: 5 May 2015

Please ensure you update Eventsforce with your choices and remember:

‘proceed, proceed, proceed, save!’

Contingent Badges At the ISTogether event (or by post) you will have received one blue edged UK Contingent participant’s badge. These badges have an iron on back meaning it may be difficult for you to move the badge from your current Uniform shirt to the shirt that we are issuing you as part of the Jamboree kit package.

So you can all wear your participant badges with pride (and without the worry of a ruined shirt!) we will be issuing all IST/JPT members with an additional blue bordered UK Contingent participants badge as part of your jamboree kit issue in May next year. This will be done automatically for all, you do not have to take any further action.

In The Next Edition …

• ISTokyo previews

• Travel health advice from Dr. Kirsteen

• Hydration and humidity advice

• Reports from Units on their Jamboree preparations so far

Date for your Diary

16-17 May 2015: All Adult Weekend, Gilwell Park

Your Next Steps• Remember ‘proceed, proceed, proceed, save!’ when updating information on Eventsforce.

• Check your passport expiry date now and ensure that if you need to renew your passport, you do so in time for December, when we will be asking you to finalise your passport details on Eventsforce.

• Don’t forget to check the FAQs on the website to see if an answer to your query can be found there.

• Have you made contact with other local IST/JPT and your local unit?

It’s great to hear about your stories and mini adventures you are having en route to Japan, so do keep us posted with your funny and unusual exploits for possible publication in our next IST newsletter.

Best wishes,

The ISupport TeamLiz, Jo, Steph, Stu, Lawrence and Eric

May

16-17