History of scouting in hungary The Hungarian Jamboree The peak event of prewar Hungarian scouting was undoubtedly the 1933 Jamboree organized in Gödöllő, Hungary. This event is still a legend for Hungarian scouts, or maybe more than that: a point of reference. In any case, it is an honor to be one of the countries that have had the opportunity to host a jamboree. We Hungarians like to think that this jamboree was special not only for us; this is confirmed by many memoirs, including BP’s .
The White Stag The symbol of the camp was the jumping white stag. According to a Hungarian legend, two young men, named Hunor and Magor, while hunting for the white stag, arrived at a beautiful island in the middle of a lake, and settled down there. The descendants of Hunor (the Huns) and Magor (the Magyars) later moved ahead to the Carpathian Basin. In his farewell speech, BP said the following about the symbolical meaning of the white stag: You can look on that White Stag as the pure spirit of scouting, springing forward and upward, ever leading you onward and upward to leap over difficulties, to face new adventures in your active pursuit of the higher aims of Scouting - aims which bring you happiness.
The badge of the Jamboree
Interesting facts: 5 continents; 54 countries; 14 religions; 30 languages; 26000 participants The Jamboree took place in Gödöllő, not far from the Hungarian capital, Budapest. The local suburban railway was used only by the participants of the Jamboree. Every day, more than 50 trains arrived at the railway station. For the first time, a special series of stamps was issued commemorating the Jamboree. Flying scouts introduced themselves at this Jamboree. The Jamboree’s daily newspaper, the ‘Hungarian Scout’ came out every day in five different languages (English, French, German, Polish and Hungarian), in 20 000 copies on 24 pages. This Jamboree was organized during the worldwide economic downturn. The motto of the Hungarian scouts was: ‘The whole country is Jamboree!’, meaning that the entire country was involved in the excitement and organization of the event. Pál Teleki, chief scout and former Prime Minister, was named a special government commissioner for the Jamboree. Following the Jamboree, Hungarian scout troops welcomed foreign scouts in their home regions. “But above all, make friends!” said BP in his opening speech. The language of the hosts is known to very few outside Hungary. Language difficulties were overcome by the introduction of ’Jamboreese’, by the publication of a Scout dictionary in English, French, German and Hungarian, and by the assistance of an interpreters’ corps attached to each contingent, who were available day and night. This was supplemented by broad smiles and gestures at any time.