A contingent of 25 Rover Scouts, led by Edward Vella, Commissioner for Rover Scouts, is in Iceland for a nine-day gathering of Scouts and Guides, which starts today.

Roverway 2009, now in its third edition, is held every three years in a different country. It brings together over 2,500 participants and over 500 staff members from around the world.

The Scouts and Guides have been divided into 317 teams from 38 European countries, who will be joined by their counterparts from six other countries outside Europe.

The newly elected Chief Scout, Kenneth De Martino, visited the Maltese contingent last week prior to their departure and wished them well, commending them on their hard work in preparing for this event over the past six months.

“Our Rover Scouts will surely be great ambassadors of Malta, bringing back loads of ideas and experiences to their Scout Groups,” the Chief Scout said.

The main theme of Roverway 2009 is ‘Open up’. This will work at different levels: Open up your mind; your heart; to challenges; culture; creativity; and the environment. All activities will be linked to one of these themes in one way or another.

The educational objectives of Roverway 2009 are to:

• develop participants’ understanding and experience of belonging to the worldwide movement of Scouts and Guides in a European context;

• be challenged by new perspectives of culture, origin, ideas, behaviour and experience;

• experience the influence and power of nature and the environment on everyday life;

• be challenged to think about their lifestyle and its impact on the environment and on their individual health; and

• think about their role as European citizens, and the rights and responsibilities that go with it.

Prior to the arrival in Iceland participants were divided into groups of 50. Each group had their own Facebook site and the opportunity to get to know each other, communicate with their Tribe leaders and make an impact on their Journey planning before arriving to Iceland.

After the opening ceremony in Reykjavik this morning, participants will be transported to different base camps all over the country, where they will spend the next five days in their individual Journey programme.

There are 52 Journeys around the country, categorised by themes: Heart, Mind, Creativity, Environment, Challenge and Culture. They are rated on how difficult they are physically: some are Journeys everyone can do; some include some walking; some participants will be walking every day of their Journey but will not have to carry their gear; and others are physically challenging, with a lot of walking and climbing involved, while all the food and equipment must be carried the whole time.

Every tribe will get the opportunity to do something for the society where they are staying or for the place they are staying. On Friday everyone will come together at the Ulfljotsvatn Scout Centre for the third part of Roverway, called Althingi. The programme includes outdoor activities, workshops, roundtable discussions, challenges, campfires and diverse cultural activities, with a great time together guaranteed.

There will be scout cafes, a Viking village, sports, water activities, an Environment village where whaling can be tasted and discussed, and PSST village (the society and technology facing young people today) and Arty party, which allows participants to use music and their creative talent to the fullest, an International Carnival, campfires and live music.

Participants can chill, exchange badges or take a swim in the lake. During the day there will be an array of creative activities, and exciting topics at round tables. In the evenings one may rest by sitting around a campfire. Participants can go and listen to music or make music, enjoy the midnight sun, and make friends.

The Maltese contingent returns to Malta on 28 July.