The following information is courtesy of the Scouts JOTA-JOTI website:
Some 20,000 licensed Amateur Radio operators will put 12,000 radio stations on the air with state-of-the-art technology for the upcoming JOTA-JOTI event. This offers an excellent opportunity for young Radio Amateurs to inspire young Scouts with the charms of radio techniques. And for Scouts to share their world with Radio Amateurs of (nearly) their own age.
Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is an annual Scouting event that uses Amateur Radio to link Scouts around the world, around Canada, and in your own community. Jamboree-On-The-Air and Jamboree-On-The-Internet (JOTA-JOTI) is an official international event of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). JOTA-JOTI is a youth program event intended for young people in Scouting of all ages.
The purpose of JOTA-JOTI is to enable and encourage Scouts around the world to communicate with one another by means of Amateur Radio and the Internet, providing a fun and educational Scouting experience and promoting their sense of belonging to a worldwide Scout Movement. At world level, JOTA-JOTI is coordinated by the World JOTA-JOTI Team (WJJT), led by a World JOTA-JOTI Coordinator (WJJC). The WJJT reports to the World Scout Committee and is supported by the World Scout Bureau.
This year’s SSTV initiative
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) have taken an initiative to bring young radio operators and young Scouts together. One of the main activities for Scouts in this year’s JOTA-JOTI is to exchange badges (as electronic pictures) via Slow Scan Television (SSTV), with the target to let them experience a different technique combined with a well-known Scout activity to swap badges. SSTV has become so much more accessible with a laptop or smartphone and some software, combining the radio and the digital world. It is in particular for this activity that young Amateur Radio operators can play an important role in making the connections and discovering the possibilities of SSTV. For more information please visit: https://www.jotajoti.info/jota-and-yota/
Background information:
JOTA-JOTI is the largest Scouting event in the world with over 1.3 million Scouts participating across 150+ countries. Scouts and Guides across the world connect with each other during JOTA-JOTI using the airwaves and the internet. The event has been held the third weekend of October since 1957. The next JOTA-JOTI is October 19, 20 and 21.
JOTA-JOTI related activities take place simultaneously all around the world each year during the third weekend in October. The program for JOTA-JOTI consists both of activities developed at world level and initiatives developed at national and local level, supported by National JOTA-JOTI Coordinators and their respective teams.
Basic Principles
- JOTA-JOTI is a fun and exciting experience for young people in Scouting.
- JOTA-JOTI seeks to promote quality Scouting in a manner faithful to the purpose, principles and method of Scouting and consistent with the needs and aspirations of young people in today’s world.
- JOTA-JOTI strives for a meaningful engagement of as many young people from as many parts of the world as possible.
- JOTA-JOTI is an occasion to celebrate Scouting and to generate positive energy to support the development of the Scout Movement.
Educational Objectives
- Promote Scouts’ sense of belonging to the worldwide Scout Movement.
- Promote peace, cultural awareness, tolerance, sharing, collaboration and to encourage good deeds and active citizenship.
- Provide opportunities for the development of teamwork and leadership skills through patrol-based activities.
- Provide exciting opportunities for young people to explore technology and to develop technical skills.
- Promote innovation and creativity.
Held on the third full weekend of October each year, this worldwide jamboree requires no travel, other than to a nearby Amateur Radio shack, Scout meeting place, camp or community centre.
JOTA started in 1958 (with the World JOTA Bureau located right here in Ottawa, Canada). In 1997, communicating through the Internet was added, and this was called Jamboree on the Internet or JOTI for short. Both annual events are sanctioned and sponsored by the World Organization of the Scouting Movement. In short, it’s the best way to talk to half a million Scouts and Guides without having to leave your own community!
This is the official World Organization of the Scout Movement’s website for JOTA-JOTI.
Scouts Official JOTA website: https://jotajoti.info/
ARRL website: https://www.arrl.org/jamboree-on-the-air-jota