Your Scouts can experience the excitement of an international Scouting event – without leaving home!
Every year, during the third weekend of October, more than 2 million Scouts from more than 170 countries log in online or turn on a ham radio and join the largest Scouting event in the world: Jamboree-on-the-Air and Jamboree-on-the-Internet (JOTA-JOTI).
This year’s event will be Oct. 17-19, with activities available around the clock.
Scouts can join activities that foster global citizenship, interact with other cultures and develop friendships through shared Scouting traditions. Sharpening their communications skills, participants connect through moderated chatrooms, group video calls, live shows and Minecraft.
As they explore the JOTI Activity Hub, Scouts can earn digital badges. They will encounter engaging programs, such as talent shows, games, the “Challenge Valley” for offline activity ideas and a virtual visit to the World Scout Centre in Switzerland. Program areas also promote life skills, healthy living and ways for Scouts to make an impact on their communities.
Scouts can also log on to World Scouting’s proctored Minecraft server to build, explore and connect.
You can check out the directory of participating groups, including their group name, location and contact information. This feature can help you connect with other groups, possibly building connections that last for years to come. Leaders can also visit the Activity Hub’s Leaders’ Corner.
What you need
Check with your local council to see if events are already planned for JOTA-JOTI.
If not, for JOTI, you will need an Internet-enabled device, like a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone.
If you have a ham radio, you should be good for JOTA. Many Scouts choose to visit a local amateur radio operator’s ham shack or a ham shack at a council camp. You can also contact local radio clubs hosted by the American Radio Relay League, which is the national association for amateur radio and cooperates closely with Scouting America.
How to connect
Because this is a global event, you will need to register on World Scouting’s JOTA-JOTI website, and you will need to have a World Scouting username and password that is different from your Scouting America username and password.
The website also provides ways to sign up for video calls and chatrooms, and you can review safety rules and codes of conduct on this website.
Yes, there’s a patch
This year’s Scouting America JOTA-JOTI patch, available at the Scout Shop, includes a lot of new features. Designed by Tristan Dalley, a Scouting America JOTA-JOTI committee volunteer from the Orange County Council, the patch incorporates other Scouting elements and imagery.
- This is the first year the name Scouting America is featured on the patch. The new JOTA-JOTI logo will also be emblazoned on future event patches and swag.
- If your Scout has earned the Radio merit badge, you might recognize the design above the JOTA lettering.
- Radio Scouting is represented by the red globe with the headphones.
- The purple border represents the color used for World Scouting.
CubChat Live!
Watch this interview with JOTA-JOTI Chair Greg Wojcicki about all the exciting things happening at this year’s event:
Quick links
For more resources on the event, check these links:
- JOTA-JOTI website
- JOTI Activity Hub
- JOTA-JOTI participant directory
- JOTA-JOTI safety rules and codes of conduct
- JOTA-JOTI live shows
- JOTA-JOTI program in a box
- Scouting America resources, including fact-sheets, brochures and guides
During JOTA-JOTI, you can share your experience on social media using these hashtags: #JOTAJOTI or #JOTAJOTI_USA or #JOTI_USA
Inspire Leadership, Foster Values: Donate to Scouting
When you give to Scouting, you are making it possible for young people to have extraordinary opportunities that will allow them to embrace their true potential and become the remarkable individuals they are destined to be.
Donate Today