Scout from Market Harborough among thousands at World Jamboree in America

Matt Cook (17) from Market Harborough is one of the 5,000 Scouts from the UK joining 40,000 others taking part in the World Scout Jamboree, a skills and adventure festival happening in wild and wonderful West Virginia.

Matt is meeting 45,000 Scouts from nearly every country in the world – sharing his skills while enjoying high adventure in this picturesque part of North America.

The Jamboree offers young people the chance to learn new skills that they can use in other aspects of their life and taste high adventure.

Matt has been learning about different cultures, learning different language skills and trying food from around the world – he’s even tried crickets! The experience has made him more confident and given him chance to develop his skills for life.

The World Scout Jamboree is the culmination of two years of work for the leaders, which has involved camps and team building events preparing the young people for living on a humid site in West Virginia amongst Scouts from nearly every country in the world.

Matt Cook said “It’s all about teaching people from different countries about British culture. We’re learning new skills about how to be respectful to other cultures too”

The event was opened by UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who said: "World Scout Jamborees only happen every four years and tens of thousands of Scouts attend each one. They are incredible festivals of peace, friendship and adventure. Young people will make friends for life with people from over 150 countries, experience different food, language and culture while learning new skills. It will be the journey of a lifetime."