The 18th World Scout Jamboree was held August 1 to 11, 1995 and was hosted by the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 on a polder near Dronten

Dronten

Dronten is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands. Its population is 39,787 .- History :Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dronten were revealed in 1958.The foundations for the town were laid in 1960...

, Flevoland

Flevoland

Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital...

. 28,960 Scouts and staff members from 166 countries and territories participated in the event, the largest representation of countries to date, including 34 countries where Scouting

Scouting

Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....

 was being born or reborn.

The event was officially opened by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Claus. The theme was Future is Now and the Jamboree was also visited by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...

, Princess Basma bint Talal

Princess Basma bint Talal

Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan is the only daughter of the late King Talal I bin Abdullah and Queen Zain Al-Sharaf Talal of Jordan, sister of the late King Hussein I of Jordan and paternal aunt to the current King of Jordan, HM King Abdullah II...

 of Jordan and Sadako Ogata

Sadako Ogata

, is a Japanese academic, diplomat, author, administrator and professor emeritus at Sophia University.-Early life:Sadako Nakamura was born in 1927...

, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...

, who inaugurated the second Global Development Village, a major attraction, with Scouts from all over the world sharing experiences and learning more about other ways of life. Various activities and stalls at the Plaza, in the middle of the Jamboree site, provided lighter entertainment.

Some of the range of activities were the Jamboree Friendship Award, the interreligious ceremony on violence and peace, a Scout Forum and connection via satellite with Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996...

, Secretary-General of the United Nations, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, with the participation of Scout associations, Non-governmental Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations, in particular UNHCR and the United Nations Children's Fund

United Nations Children's Fund

United Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...

.

The Comunidade do Escutismo Lusófono

Comunidade do Escutismo Lusófono

The Comunidade do Escutismo Lusófono is the international community of the Scouting organizations in the Lusophone countries...

 is based on the Carta do Escutismo Lusófono (Charter of Lusophone Scouting), formulated during the Jamboree on August 6, 1995. The original signatory organizations were the Corpo Nacional de Escutas - Escutismo Católico Português

Corpo Nacional de Escutas - Escutismo Católico Português

The Corpo Nacional de Escutas – Escutismo Católico Português is the largest Portuguese Scouting organization. The association was founded in 1923 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1929; at present, this membership is maintained via the Federação Escotista de...

, the União dos Escoteiros do Brasil

União dos Escoteiros do Brasil

The União dos Escoteiros do Brasil is the national Scouting organization of Brazil. Scouting in Brazil was founded in 1910 and was among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922. The União dos Escoteiros do Brasil itself was founded in 1924; it has 53,055 members...

, the Corpo Nacional de Escutas da Guiné-Bissau and the Associação de Escuteiros de São Tomé e Príncipe.