International
Six to represent Australia at KISC in the European Summer 2024.
Hot on the heels of a successful Australian Contingent to Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) in its centenary year – 2023, Scouts Australia is thrilled that six members have been accepted as short term staff for the European Summer in 2024 (June-August 2024). KISC is in the village of Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland aka the Swiss Alpes and is the world’s only permanent mini Jamboree.
Focusing on three main program areas, Eco Adventure, High Adventure and International Friendship, Scouts and Guides from all over the world volunteer and staff the Centre, making it like Disneyland for Scouts! While they don’t exactly know what roles they will be doing just yet, we caught up with the six future Pinkies (nickname for KISC staff and volunteers), Aly (Vic), Gemma (Vic), Grace A (Vic), Grace C (NSW), Ruby (NSW) and Zoe (NSW) to chat about their upcoming opportunity!
For more information about KISC, or any of the other wonderful Scout properties you can visit in the world, please get in contact with your Branch International Commissioner.
Ruby
What made you want to apply for KISC?
Ruby: I applied for KISC because at WSJ2015 I met a few people who had been shorties/Pinkies and they told me stories about their time and all of the fun adventures they had. Since then, I have spoken to many more people and 9 years later, I’m about to do it myself!
What’s your advice to others thinking about undertaking an international opportunity like this?
Ruby: Just apply! International Scouting is so vast in its opportunities, and you never know what might happen. Don’t let yourself hold you back and just apply!
Aly
What made you want to apply for KISC?
Aly: Throughout my Scouting journey, I’ve had so many leaders mention the idea of being a Pinkie to me, but it wasn’t until last year when I got to visit Kandersteg with the KISC100 Australian Contingent 2023 that I fell in love! I had never felt so at home somewhere, and in that moment decided I had to go back.
What’s your advice to others thinking about undertaking an international opportunity like this?
Aly: There’s absolutely no harm in applying and trying something new! Money will always come back, but experiences and memories will stick with you forever!!
Grace A
What made you want to apply for KISC?
Grace A: I was really fortunate to have two leaders in Scouts who were (and continue to be!) a huge inspiration to me, and they were both really involved in International Scouting, and fostered my interest from early in my Scouting journey. I was fortunate to be a member of the Australian Contingent to KISC in 2016, and the Pinkies who were there when I visited were absolutely my heroes. I wanted to be just like them in the future! I also know many people who are ex-Pinkies who can’t speak highly enough of the experience, which also really motivated me to apply.
What do you hope to get out of the opportunity?
Grace A: I think that the international friendships that I’ll make throughout my time at KISC are what I’m looking forward to the most! I am also hoping to continue to develop my leadership and team-work capability, learn more about environmentalism and sustainability, further refine my own self-development and reflective skills, and hopefully add some more campfire songs to my repertoire!
Zoe
What made you want to apply for KISC?
Zoe: I hadn’t had the opportunity to travel after high school due to COVID-19, and I completed university almost exclusively online before entering the workforce full-time. I hadn’t known or considered being a Pinkie until I attended a World Scout Foundation event hosted by KISC last year and had such a great time that I knew I needed to return one day.
What do you hope to get out of the opportunity?
Zoe: I’m excited to meet and work with other Scouts from around the world and have the opportunity to do what I love in the Swiss Alps.
Grace C
What made you want to apply for KISC?
Grace C: My sister, Meg attended KISC last year as a Climbing Guide, she could not speak highly enough of her experience! Seeing all the pictures she was sending home made me so jealous that I’d been excitedly waiting for Summer Short Term Staff applications to open to apply this year!
What do you hope to get out of the opportunity?
Grace C: I’m hoping to share my passion for the outdoors and our world with young people from across the globe. I hope to make lifelong friends and have an incredible adventure. I am so excited for my dreams to hike amongst the Swiss Alps amongst Edelweiss to come true at KISC. Every moment at KISC will be an opportunity to learn more.
Gemma
What made you want to apply for KISC?
Gemma: I returned home from the KISC100 Australian Contingent 2023 and found myself missing the “magic of KISC”. While at KISC, I spent a significant amount of time working with people who had been Pinkies in previous years, and they all described it as a life-changing experience. I was planning on challenging myself with new roles within my Paramedic and Scouting careers and a 3-month adventure volunteering at KISC before this sounded like the perfect escapade before increasing my commitments at home.
What’s your advice to others thinking about undertaking an international opportunity like this?
Gemma: My advice would be that you’re not too old and it’s worth putting in the effort to arrange your commitments around these opportunities. I was initially hesitant to apply as I felt like most people going on these adventures were younger with less commitments, but I had missed out on a lot of international opportunities as my final years of Rovering were lost to Covid lockdowns and I didn’t want to let more opportunities pass me by.