Cover Photo: Joy Alissa Erb
Text: Debra van der Lem
Roverway is made possible by the hard work of volunteers from across Europe and the world. They make up the Planning Team and the International Service Team. In this article we hear from some of them about their role at Roverway and what inspired them to get involved.
Bob (UK) (IST registration)
After an exhausting journey to Norway (some of you had several stopovers or detours) Bob is one of the first people to meet. He is part of the International Service Team (IST) registration and welcoming committee. He makes sure that all necessary information, like email addresses, are in the right place, and will provide you with a name tag and practical instructions, like where to put up your tent.
Bob is part of IST Coordination, but over the last couple of days was ensured with this task. We all came across his desk at one point, and we all know that the task suits him very well. As all IST have arrived on Monday, you might think Bob can sit back and relax from Tuesday on, but no. Bob will be in charge of IST allocation from then on. So if you’re not happy with your job or want to change into a different team, Bob is the one to speak to. Of course he hopes he won’t be very busy, because then he and the rest of the team allocated everyone correctly from the start.
It’s Bob’s first international camp and he is really looking forward to meeting new people, exchanging stories about Guiding and Scouting in different countries and hearing all about scouting adventures people had in the past.
Ann (Ireland) (IST restaurant)
In daily life Ann works in event and catering outdoor management, but she hadn’t initially put her skills in her Roverway IST application as she wanted to do something else. Her background eventually took over and she is happy working in the kitchen where she has become one of the familiar faces since she arrived on Thursday. She is not the only experienced one, as there are quite a few who worked in the kitchen at big events like Roverway before. Their knowledge and enthusiasm spreads and affects the rest of their team (50 IST and Planning Team members in total) and when they work together it looks like a well-oiled machine. This we all love of course, because we all need a good cup of coffee or tea in the morning.
Even though Ann originally signed up for logistics as she wanted to gain experience in that department, she is very content where she is. She easily provides the team members with the necessary instructions to let them coordinate their stations. She loves the system of heating up pre-prepared food, which is made by an external company with a list of allergies in mind. It leaves time and space to organise the dishes for those who need a bit more attention to their food. Ann can’t wait for her Rovers to get to Main Camp, so she can hear all about their adventures.
Marlee (Canada) (Services)
Marlee has been in the country for a couple of days and found her way to Stavanger after being joined with her luggage, which had been on the wrong flight. She was assigned to team A within Services, but she had some trouble finding her Team Leader. For now she is happy doing the things which need to be done and feeling useful. Yesterday she provided lots of people around the site with drinks and snacks and it gave her the opportunity to chat to a lot of different people and get to know the site. She spent her Monday morning making the cleaning roster and writing the instructions on how to do it. She is okay with the fact that she won’t know what she’ll be doing later on, although it would be great to meet the team she was allocated to. She loves the diversity of the tasks within Services and the opportunity to see a lot of the camp at the same time.
Roverway is her second international camp and she has the feeling it’s like camping with 5000 friends. She is looking forward to meeting new people and just having a good time. As cheerful as she is, that won’t be a hard task.
Robin (Norway) (Services)
Robin is from the Planning Team and leads team C within Services. He has been part of the Planning Team since 2022 and he looks back on an interesting conversation during the Norwegian National Jamboree. He was just asked if he had something to do this summer over a cup of coffee, after which he joined the Planning Team. Services consists of several teams made up of different nationalities and every morning they decide which team is doing what. During our chat with Robin, the team is measuring the height underneath the electricity wire. As the measuring tape was forgotten, a long wooden plank and some 1.82 metres tall Swiss guy lying on it will do to find out a more precise height. Going back to the office to get the measuring tape simply would have taken too long. They hope that the wire, which a lorry hit last night, isn’t damaged.
Robin is all about good management; lots of coffee and letting the team do what they do best. He says it has been the easiest task up so far. For most of the team it is their first international event and they seem to be enjoying themselves and are happy to roll up their sleeves.
Severide (Norway) (First Aid)
Severide works in search and rescue in daily life and helps people who get in tricky conditions in mountain areas. He heard a friend talking about Roverway and was persuaded to join quite easily. He always took an interest in First Aid and he finally made it his expertise, so he didn’t think twice about doing something else. The First Aid station is not far from Main Stage and for now it has been really quiet, which is a good thing of course – but he is not here to sit still. Severide loves meeting new people and hearing all about their adventures, so feel free to pop in for a chat if you are in the neighbourhood. You can also meet him on your way to Preikestolen if you have the opportunity to come along. Even though this is his first big camp, he didn’t wait to figure out what Roverway could offer him and he has signed up for his next adventure already. You might meet him at the First Aid station at the Norwegian National Jamboree next year.
